Equal But Opposite Reaction
by Henka
Summary: AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Prologue: Just a Back Story**

It was hard, Lucas realized, to be successful and still maintain a relationship. The first time it had been with Laura. He remembered her and their relationship as if it had just happened yesterday. She had been a beautiful red head that he fell in love with in college, but as soon as opportunity came knocking he had made the choice to leave her. She had kicked him out on Christmas when he told her his decision. He never spoke to her again. Next there had been Tanya, a feisty girl from California he met at one of his basketball games. She had enticed him with her looks, kept him with her intelligence, and then lost him when he found out she slept with a member of his staff. She blamed him and his job before skipping town. He could probably rattle off ten more names of girls he had been with only to have his heart stomped on when they kicked him out on the curb because of his job.

Who was he? Lucas Scott, age 24, youngest sports agent out of the University of Miami now living in New York City. One half of his job consisted of him flying around the United States visiting colleges and scouting out those who could possibly make it in the NBA, while other half was taking care of the athletes he already sponsored. Making sure that every one of their needs was met where ever they went. It was a demanding job that barely gave him any free time but it paid the bills and kept him in his custom-tailored Armani suits.

So what if he hadn't been on a date since the last chick, Maria, had broken up with him? That was a year ago and he was perfectly content with going to his large 1.2 million dollar penthouse alone. At least he didn't spend his money on some girl just out for his money.

Ok, so maybe he was lying. He was lonely and he knew it. There was only so much his friends and his job could do. Lucas Scott wanted a girlfriend, something long term, someone who could fill his bed at nights. Now the only problem was finding that perfect girl.

He should just keep on dreaming. Perfect girl his foot, he gave up on that notion after Girl #14, he didn't even remember her name.

But Girl #15 seemed to be the lucky one. Suddenly life began to seem a little more interesting when he met Brooke Davis.

-

She wasn't famous, far from it, but she was proud and beautiful and everyone who ever came in contact with her seemed to know it. Brooke Davis had grown up the trouble maker back in Tree Hill, North Carolina. She was the bad girl; the rebel without a cause, the one voted "least likely to succeed." She smirked to herself every day when she thought about everyone back home. They had been surprised to say the least when she had come back two years after college to tell them she had started her own magazine. They had been even more surprised when she had nonchalantly pointed out the magazine on their coffee table, _Filly_, an entertainment magazine geared towards women.

Brooke Davis, age 25, and editor of the hot _Filly _magazine based out Manhattan, New York. Jeez…who would have thought?

Her magazine and her laid back lifestyle in the busy, bustling city of New York City was more than enough to keep her content. Soon enough she knew her life would blow up and she'd be one of New York's socialites. It was a given when _Filly_ was doing so well. But for now, she would enjoy the quiet time she had now to just live life with her family and friends by her side.

But that doesn't mean that she can't find someone to share her life with.

After living through high school labeled the class slut all through college she had been wary of men. They were scheming, scandalous, backstabbing, cheating piles of vermin that main purpose was to get in your pants. End of story.

Of course there are the lucky ones who find Mr. Right. Mr. Prince Charming who though you don't know it eventually comes and sweeps you off your feet. That's what she wishes she could have some time. Besides the fortune and the respect, she wanted Mr. Right to be waiting at home for her with loving words and kind gestures.

Unfortunately life wasn't so easy and no one ever really got what they wanted, or so she thought. That was until she met Lucas Scott, and her world got turned upside down.

**A/N: **The idea popped up for this story right in the middle of writing _This Time Around_ and now that I've finished _This Time Around _I figured I would get this story idea out of my head before I wrote the sequel to _This Time Around_. Hopefully you guys will like this new story from me! Reviews are always welcome, they're my drug.


	2. Part 1

Equal But Opposite Reaction

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

* * *

**Part 1**

"_Every action creates an equal but opposite reaction"_

Lucas berated himself one more time for ever deciding to be his brother's agent. He didn't know what drug he was on, or what devil possessed him but he really wanted to shoot himself for agreeing to it. He loved his brother, but Nathan Scott point guard of the New York Knicks was a hassle on a good day and after having a fight with his wife Haley Scott today was not going to be one of those good days. Nathan was bordering on spoiled three year oldthat needed a beating.

"Nate, Hales is not going to stay mad at you. If she dealt with your idiotic, egotistical self since high school she's not going to abandon you now!" Lucas finally shouted irritated. "Now can we please get back to the subject at hand, like these rumors I have to somehow suppress?"

Lucas growled and glared at the cashier of Starbucks. "Nate hold on." He waved hishand frantically at the woman who was making his coffee. "Could you take any longer? I have things to do!"

The cashier glared right back slamming his coffee down on the counter so that it sloshed over the sides. Lucas struggled to keep himself from strangling the cashier. She was just lucky it hadn't spilled on his new suit. Grabbing the cup of coffee he turned around and walked briskly to the exit. "Okay Nate. These rumors, we need to do something about them now. I already called the publicist she's doing as much damage control as possible."

"Can't Nance work any faster? The National Enquirer already has some bogus story about my 'drinking habits'" Nathan complained.

He gritted his teeth. "No, I can't make her work any faster! Keep your partying under control and we wouldn't have this problem!" He glanced at his watch and cursed inwardly. "Nate, I got to go. Contrary to popular belief I do work with other people. Make sure by the time I come over tonight you and Hales have made up. I don't need my best friend barging into my office crying about my bastard brother again!"

Closing his cell phone he flagged down a taxi and hopped in. Settling back in the seat he groaned and remembered that he needed to call another one of his clients by two. Opening up his cell phone again he worked through midday traffic only half listening to the taxi cab driver's road rage as they weaved through the busy New York City streets. Finally arriving he paid the man and jumped out, dusting off his Armani suit.

He pressed the button to the Agency's floor impatiently, desperate to get out of the crowd and into his secluded office where although he was busy, at least he was alone and actually had time to think.

Scratch thinking, when he walked in his office Nancy, Nathan's red-headed and green-eyed publicist, was waiting for him. He sighed dropped his brief case on the floor beside his desk and practically threw himself in his chair. "Nance, what can I do for you?"

She spread out three tabloids and pointed to another stack. "Your brother is driving me insane."

"You and everyone else." Lucas muttered. "I already talked to him today and he said none of it's true and that you should work fast to get rid of it."

"I can't get rid of it! This is America! Free speech and all that good stuff? It sort of happened here and it's still sort of in effect! Just because Nate's a celebrity it makes it even worse." Nancy yelled. "Jeez, I give up!"

Lucas laughed. "You can't give up, you wouldn't have a job."

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I'm starting to think being poor is better than working with Nathan."

"Yeah, I'm sure it is but Nance, you couldn't survive without your Gucci, Fendi, and Prada." Lucas said grinning.

She threw one of the tabloids at him. "Don't get smart with me Lucas!" She picked up another tabloid and read the headline. "Nathan Scott: Sex, Drugs, and Booze. How unoriginal is that! What is that a template? Insert star name here add a colon and then make a cheesy tagline?"

Luke grabbed the paper from her, opening it to the cover story. "Nathan Scott was spotted at Club 1101 last week Saturday clubbing and drinking with a group of fan girls he met after his winning game. Could this mean the end of the marriage to Haley Scott, Grammy winning musician…?" He trailed off dumping the paper in the garbage. "That's why I don't read magazines."

Nancy chuckled, taking the tabloid out of the garbage and adding it back to the pile before shoving the whole stack back into her Prada briefcase. "I better get going, damage control to do."

Lucas glanced at his watch again. "I got an interview with some editor chick about one of my clients."

A loud buzzing noise sounded before the voice of his secretary came over the small intercom. "Mr. Scott there is a Miss Davis waiting for you. She's scheduled for your 3:30 lunch meeting."

He looked at Nancy who waved her good bye. "Have fun."

He mouthed "Wait a minute" before answering his secretary. "Tell her I'll be outside in a couple of minutes."

"Come on Nance, let me walk you out." He said grabbing his suit jacket. Together they walked out of his office and he waved to her as she left the building. He looked around and noticed the brunette sitting elegantly on one of his chairs in the corner. Their eyes met and she rose from her seat a polite smile on her face.

Lucas took that time to size up the woman. She was beautiful with shoulder length brunette hair and large brown eyes. She was dressed professionally and wore black wire rimmed glasses. "Mr. Scott, it's a pleasure to meet you I'm Brooke Davis executive editor of _Filly_ magazine."

"Right, I know we talked on the phone. You're the one interested in getting interviewing rights on over half of my clientele."

"Well yes, Promotex Sports is the most well known and used agency in New York among the NBA it would be a huge asset to my magazine to be able to have your support."

Lucas waved his hand. "Why don't we talk about this over lunch at Catelli's? I didn't invite you for a lunch meeting to talk about this in the middle of my lobby."

"Of course. Lead the way, I'm not familiar with New York City. _Filly_'s offices are in Manhattan." Brooke responded.

He led her down to the parking garage near the building and unlocked his Escalade. "You don't mind riding with me do you?" He said a small smirk on his face when he noticed the surprised look on her face.

"No not at all, I didn't think you'd be driving."

He opened the door for her before going around to his side. Pulling out into traffic he began to question her to figure out what type of person he was dealing with.

"So tell me about yourself. What made you decide to start a magazine?" He asked.

Brooke shrugged. "It was something I was good at and when I was younger and I wasn't good at a lot of things. I turned my hobby into something I could make money off of. I started at _Elle_ magazine as a column writer and eventually started my own."

Lucas nodded. "Where'd you grow up?"

She laughed. "Probably a town you've never heard of. A place called Tree Hill in North Carolina."

He raised an eyebrow. "Tree Hill is one funny name, sounds like some backwards hick town." He said grinning.

Brooke snorted, and Lucas could tell she was enjoying the conversation. "My hometown was more like a TV show. It was just drama after drama after more drama."

"What was your part on the TV show?"

She clammed up. "I don't see how that's relevant to our meeting Mr. Scott."

"Lucas."

She looked up and glanced towards him. "What?"

"You should call me Lucas, Mr. Scott makes me sound old. I like to revel in my youth."

They were in a less crowded part of New York now; the streets were lined with small shops and restaurants. Catelli's was a large restaurant that served Italian food.

Unlocking the doors again, Lucas opened Brooke's door and helped her out the car and lead her into the restaurant, breezing through the line and going directly to the front. He chatted with the concierge before leading her to a table secluded in the back corner.

"Mr. Scott, I mean Lucas you seem to assert a lot of power around here." Brooke commented.

"I use this restaurant for a lot of business meetings. After a while the staff starts to get to know you." He replied. "So back to business, why exactly should I favor your magazine over everyone else?"

Brooke smiled confidently. "_Filly_ is one of the hottest magazines in New York and the U.S. I know you deal with a lot of rising starts, by agreeing to with _Filly_ they can get maximum exposure not only from us but from our partners US Weekly, Entertainment Magazine, and Teen People."

Lucas considered this as he ordered his food, choosing to wait until Brooke had ordered her food and the waitress had left before answering her. "Filly is a magazine mostly for women, why would your readers want to know the newest details about the next hottest NBA star?" Lucas asked.

Brooke blushed. "It's not just Filly magazine that wants your affiliation. Along with Filly magazine our partners, which we have partners in a lot of places not just the magazine field. My Filly readers have also wanted more sports stories."

Lucas filed that in the back of his head. Women starting to have a bigger interest in sports were something he could market later on. He hummed slightly, and they lapsed into a silence each enjoying the food that had just arrived. Lucas took the time to evaluate Miss Davis. She was articulate and one of the best saleswomen he had encountered.

"Lucas, since you had a chance to quiz me in the car I was hoping you'd let me do the same." Brooke said finally.

He raised an eyebrow and smiled. "It'd be my pleasure, ask away."

"Where'd you grow up?" She asked.

"I thought you'd come up with something a little bit more creative." Lucas said. "But I grew up in Palm Beach, Florida. You said your life was a TV show? Well mine was an unhappy fairytale. But my brother and I got out of there and we made something of ourselves."

"Your brother" she said sipping her wine. "He's the basketball star Nathan Scott right?"

Lucas nodded. "The one and only."

"I've heard that in college you played basketball as well and were fairly good at it in fact they call you and your brother an unstoppable force if you were to ever be on the same NBA team, why'd you stop playing?"

Lucas smiled bitterly at her. "Someone did their research didn't they?"

"When you're trying to win over someone you do as much research as you can in order to gain the upper hand." Brooke responded.

"Well Miss Davis, some things are better left unspoken." Lucas said, closing the subject. "Any more questions?"

She shook her head. "Have you considered giving Filly your support yet?"

"Miss Davis, I'll consider it if you'd have dinner with me tonight."

Brooke laughed abruptly, careful to swallow the wine she was drinking. "Lucas, I'm pretty sure that's not professional behavior. I don't date potential contributors to my magazine."

He cocked his head and grinned at her. "Since when did dinner turn into a date? Think of it as an extended meeting."

"An extended meeting, I doubt that's what would be going on." Brooke countered. "Even if I wanted to—which I don't—I couldn't, I already have plans tonight."

"Ah." Lucas said. "You have a boyfriend already; don't want him getting jealous of the handsome, rich man you met today?"

"As if it's any of your business, but no I don't have a boyfriend, and if I did he wouldn't have anything to be jealous of."

Lucas smile grew wider. "You're a feisty one, I like that Miss Davis."

Her eyes narrowed. "I'm looking to get a contract, not a date _Mr. Scott_."

"You'd be getting both if you joined me for dinner." He reasoned.

She sighed, running an agitated her hand through her dark brown hair. "Mr. Scott, if that's what it'll take how about we do dinner tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow night is fine, I'll call you tomorrow to tell you what type of clothes to wear." He paused. "I'm guess I can call you Brooke now and you can go back to calling me Lucas."

She rolled her eyes and stood up. "Ok _Lucas_, can we go now? It's getting late and I'm sure you have other things to do besides flirting with me."

"Not really, but if you insist on going I wouldn't want to upset you." He said with a crooked smile.

"No of course not." She muttered. "Shall we go?"

They walked out of the restaurant and back into his Escalade where he dropped her back off at his office. Saying their goodbyes, he walked back up to his office would a smile on his face. Tomorrow night, he decided, would be very interesting.

-

Brooke shook her head as she watched the blonde haired man disappear into the office building of Promotex Sports. The head of the company, Lucas Scott, was a force to be reckoned with. The man was charming and sophisticated, two qualities that in her mind were dangerous when put together. She would be a fool to lie and say that the man hadn't garnered a reaction. He was drop dead _gorgeous_, successful, rich, and self-confident. Exactly the type of man that was too much to handle in Brooke's opinion. All they led to was heartache and fights which was why she would get this foolish dinner he had planned out of the way, close her deal, and then cut him off.

She dug in her bag for her cell phone as she flagged down a taxi to take her back into the city. Finding it she punched in the number of her longtime friend Peyton Sawyer. She thanked whoever was being good to her today when a taxi rolled to a stop in front of her and her elusive friend Peyton actually answered her phone.

"P. Sawyer actually answering her telephone for once in her life!" Brooke said sarcastically. "What's going on?"

Peyton laughed. "Nothing Brooke, you coming over now?"

"Heading over there as we speak. I'm coming from NYC though so I might be a little late."

"Oh right, big meeting with the Promotex guy today right?"

"Yeah, and let's say I made as big of an impression on him as he did on me." Brooke said sighing.

"What happened?"

"He asked me to dinner tomorrow night for an 'extended meeting' wouldn't give me an answer until I agreed to come and showed up."

Peyton giggled. "Is he cute?"

"Peyton Sawyer, he is gorgeous. God would strike me down if I didn't admit that man was fine." Brooke said. "That's the problem, I'm way too attracted to him."

"So does this mean Brooke Davis is finally off of her abstaining from men kick?"

"No, he gives me more of a reason to stay on it. After Tim I don't want to get into a relationship, especially not with a guy like Lucas."

"Calling him by his first name already and you just met? Brooke you work fast."

"He insisted and it's nothing like that! I'm probably making a big deal out of nothing you know. He could probably just want to talk over dinner so he could get some time to research Filly or something."

Peyton laughed again, happy that Brooke had a crush on someone. She had been moping ever since Tim had dumped her for another one of their friends, Theresa. "Whatever you say Brooke. If this guy has that much of an effect on you and you've only met with him in an office just think of what will happen at dinner."

"Actually we had lunch." Brooke added, knowing that Peyton was going to jump on that one.

"You two had a lunch meeting? Where'd he take you?"

"Catelli's, this lovely little Italian place just outside of NYC." Brooke said. "He was so blatantly flirting with me right before I left that I ended it as fast as I could."

"Brooke, if you would just get over the bastard Tim and the backstabber Theresa you would wake up and realize that not all men are bad."

"Well Peyt, not everyone has found their prince charming like you have." Brook said bitterly. "Hang on a minute…" She paid the taxi driver and stepped out the cab, taking the steps two at time she climbed up stairs and knocked on her friend's door. The door swung open and she smiled at Peyton.

"I'm sick of guys in general Peyt, you know that. So why don't we drop the subject okay?" Brooke asked.

Peyton shrugged, not like she could argue with her. Brooke would figure it out someday that closing off your heart because of a couple wrong choices wasn't going to make her any happier. "Whatever Brooke, Jake should be here soon and then we can eat."

Brooke nodded, browsing through Peyton's many CD's. "He went to go pick up Jenny?" She said noticing the small hyperactive girl hadn't tackled her yet.

"Yeah, and he's stopping at the store to pick up some things I need." Peyton answered.

"How was the art showing today?"

A huge smile broke out on Peyton's face. "Absolutely wonderful! I got plenty of buyers today, and one of them already pre-ordered my next set. He wants one of everything that will be at my next showing to add to his gallery."

Brooke's mouth dropped open, before she crossed the room and squashed Peyton into a hug. "I'm so glad things are finally working out for you!"

They chatted happily for a couple minutes waiting for Jake to come home about what Peyton's new paintings would be based on and possibly showcasing some of her work and an article on her in Filly. "You'd be perfect for an article Peyt, woman need to know that it doesn't matter about looks or color or status, that you can make it purely on talent."

"Brooke you're such a feminist."

Brooke smiled. "I am, but what'd you expect I'm the executive editor of a woman's magazine!"

They both giggled at that and Peyton rushed to the door to help Jake as he came in. They trio got caught up in the preparing of dinner and dealing with Jenny but all through it Brooke couldn't help but think of what would come of the dinner she would be having with Lucas the next night.

TBC

**A/N: **Hope you guys liked it please review! This is a filler fic while I think of plot lines, characters, and problems for the sequel to my other story _This Time Around _so it might not be updated as much unless I really get a good reaction from it, so tell me what you think!


	3. Part 2

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 2**

"_There's a miracle of friendship that  
dwells within the heart  
And you don't know how it happens  
or where it gets its start  
But the happiness it brings you  
always gives a special lift  
Any you realize that friendship  
Is God's most perfect gift."_

_- Anon._

Haley Scott, Grammy award winning musician and wife of the incorrigible Nathan Scott opened the door and hugged her best friend who was standing on the other side. "Glad you could make it, I was beginning to think I wouldn't be seeing you even though you promised."

Lucas gave her an apologetic smile, once again cursing his job for the hours he held. "I'm sorry Hales, I know I haven't seen you or Nate in a couple of weeks but work is killing me and after I acquire this new contract it'll probably get even worse."

They walked into the living room and joined Nathan who was currently on the telephone with Nancy if Lucas had to guess. He waved to his brother before scribbling down something on the paper that read "go in the kitchen, I'll meet you there."

"Who is he talking to?" Lucas asked Haley.

She rolled her eyes. "Nance, they've been at it for two hours now. He's going to do a press conference answering some of the stupid questions that the press has had about our supposedly shaky marriage."

Lucas whistled low shaking his head at his brother's behavior. Nathan was a good man, that much was true, but he had a habit of getting himself into trouble in places where the media would easily be able to twist around the story and use it to his disadvantage. His constant partying while Haley was away had been a source of media news and problems in their marriage since they had gotten married.

Sitting down at the table he shoveled out some of the food lying out before turning towards Haley. "Was Nance able to suppress all the tabloids that are running the stories?"

Haley nodded. "Every single one of them. She did her 'I'll take you to court and wish you never met me' act and they pretty much caved."

Lucas smiled. "That's why I hired her; she's good at the intimidation."

"You had that meeting today with the Filly girl, how'd it go?" She asked. "Did she manage to win you over?"

"In more ways than one." Lucas said smiling. "We're going out for dinner tomorrow night to continue our meeting."

"Isn't that usually a bad sign? Whenever you have these meetings you get them done in like a half hour. You're going out again with this…" Haley trailed off as a light bulb went off. "You like her don't you?"

"I like what I saw so far. She made it clear she wasn't the type to date potential clients so I figured if I just dragged the meeting out I'd get to know more about her."

Haley laughed loudly. "Lucas you're impossible, you meet women in the strangest places." She ate a spoonful of her mashed potatoes looking thoughtfully at him. "Whatever happened to the heartbreak you supposedly have over Girl #15? You wouldn't go out with Tay because of that."

Lucas pulled a disgusted face. "Hales, no offense because I love you, but Taylor is absolutely insane. You're the only girl in your family besides your mom who is actually normal."

"So are you signing the contract with the Filly girl or not?"

"I already had it drawn up by my lawyer, all I need to do is bring it to dinner and both of us can sign it. Hopefully I can get it to turn into something more." Lucas said in a hopeful tone.

"Get what to turn into something more?" Nathan asked walking into the kitchen. He hung the phone back up and sat down heavily in the chair next to his wife, dropping a chaste kiss on her head.

"Lucas likes the Filly editor he met today." Haley said returning her husband's kiss.

Nathan started laughing. "Bro, you meet chicks in the strangest places."

Lucas rolled his eyes and threw a piece of his muffin at Nathan. "You and Haley are starting to grow the same brain. Remind me never to get married."

Haley stop eating and a serious look appeared on her face. "Lucas you're not serious right? Sometime I think you are the way you go through women. I want you to be happy, and I know you're not."

Lucas put on a brave face for Haley's sake, even though he knew the girl could read him no matter how many walls he may put up. "Hales I'm fine and no I'm not serious. You don't have to worry about me, I'll find the right person when the right person comes along."

He avoided her gaze knowing that if he looked into her concerned brown eyes he would lose this battle. Instead he turned to his brother and was met with the same concerned look. "I'm not going to win this am I?" He asked defeated.

Nathan grinned. "No you're not. We worry about you Luke, you're my brother and Hales is your best friend. We just want to help, god knows how much you've helped both of us in the past."

"You two worry too much, I'm fine and one day I'll find someone that I can settle down with but with the way my job works not a lot of women I meet can understand how important it is to me. They get fed up and leave."

Haley sighed, sensing that Lucas was getting tired of this conversation. She could feel the tension practically crackling off of him. "I still think you should try a date with Taylor." She joked.

Lucas groaned. "Taylor is a crazy stalker that won't go away. Tell her I'm not interested _please_!"

Haley chuckled. "No can do Scott, Taylor doesn't take no for an answer."

-

Brooke groaned as she surveyed her closet. She had basically everything a woman would need to go out but she was having a dilemma. This was supposed to be, no matter what she or Lucas may want, a business dinner. Because of the fact that it was a business dinner she should dress conservatively, but something inside of her was yearning to make an impression on him just like he had made an impression on her the day before.

She glanced at the clock and cursed the red numbers, it would be only an hour until he would arrive. He had already called her two hours earlier to tell her they would be attending a party first (he had insisted it was mandatory for him and he didn't want to cancel their meeting), and then afterwards they would go to a simple restaurant across the street.

She suppressed a scream and picked up her house phone. "Peyton I need help, I have an hour and no idea what to wear."

She heard Peyton chuckle over the phone. "I'll be there in ten minutes try to narrow it down to something."

Brooke nodded to herself returning the phone to the cradle before turning back to her closet. She figured she would leave that to Peyton and went to the bathroom to start on her hair and makeup.

Ten minutes later Brooke was putting on the finishing touches to her makeup when Peyton used her key to open the door. "Brooke?"

"In the bedroom." She called. Peyton walked into the bedroom and laughed at the state of her room. "Indecisive much Brooke?" She giggled and then looked at the closet. "So what am I working with here? What type of look are you going for?"

"Conservative yet sexy." Brooke decided.

Peyton sized up her closet before randomly picking out different pieces. Together they narrowed down the choices until Brooke was satisfied with her outfit. Brooke ended up wearing a tapered black skirt with a white and black striped blouse that neckline dipped dangerously low. To complete the ensemble she wore stiletto heels and a black pullover.

"Peyton you're amazing." Brooke said. The doorbell rang and Brooke gasped, she didn't notice the time fly so quickly. "Peyton answer the door and pretend to be my roommate!"

Peyton looked at her strangely but complied. "Whatever, at least I get a chance to see him."

Peyton opened the door and surveyed him Brooke had been underestimating the man's look. He was more than gorgeous. The tailored black suit he wore hung off of him in just the right places and it seemed to amplify the man's apparent sex appeal. "Hi, you must be Lucas Scott?" She asked.

"The one and only, I guess you're the roommate?"

She nodded. "Peyton Sawyer. Why don't you come in, Brooke will be right out."

Sure enough as soon as Lucas got settled on the couch Brooke came waltzing out and by his reaction she knew that Peyton had did good work. She blushed as he gave her an appreciative stare. "You look beautiful Brooke."

"Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself Lucas."

Peyton covered her hand over her mouth in an effort to stop her laughter. Brooke was insane if she didn't notice the sparks that went off immediately between the two. She watched them leave, Brooke throwing her head back as she laughed at one of the man's jokes. Right then and there she knew that Brooke was losing a worthless battle against love.

Brooke smiled at him as he opened the door to his car to let her in. "So what is this party for?"

"Some benefit I'm supposed to make an appearance at because I'm the agent to half the athletes that will be there." He said. "You'll get to meet my brother and best friend, not that it makes any difference."

"Since you've met my roommate it's only fair I would get to meet some important people in your life as well."

He grinned. "Peyton wasn't your roommate."

She looked at him in surprise. "What makes you think that?"

"You're apartment was too small, unless you're sharing a bedroom or she sleeps on the couch that is virtually impossible."

Brooke blushed not enjoying being caught in a lie. "Alright, so she's not my roommate. She is my best friend though."

Lucas nodded. "Of course, I kind of figured."

"Have you given any thought to the contract?"

"Business doesn't start until we get to dinner Brooke, so why don't you enjoy yourself at the party and we'll talk about the contract later."

He pulled up in front of the party and handed his keys to valet before helping her out of the car. "Let the night begin."

Magical was one word Brooke could use to describe the party and charming was one word she would use to describe Lucas. He worked that party like he was born to do it and dragged her along with him. Every person he met asked him if she was his girlfriend and she was amazed at his ability to brush the question off and still leave the person wanting more when they left. She was amazed by him in general, even between the talks with other celebrities and sports agents he managed to keep her entertained with jokes and dancing.

They stopped in front of a handsome couple. The tall man was engaged in a conversation with the pretty red head, but they stopped as soon as they spotted them. The red head moved to hug him and Brooke couldn't stop the twinge of jealousy she felt as Lucas and the girl bonded. Smiling politely she waited to be introduced.

"Brooke Davis this is my best friend Haley James and my brother Nathan Scott."

Brooke suddenly felt really ridiculous for feeling jealous, it's not like she had any claim over him, he was just a client she had to win over. "Nice to meet you, aren't you the musician who does the soundtrack for all those movies?" She asked vaguely, knowing she had heard the name before.

Haley nodded and smiled. "That would be me."

"It's very nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

Nathan took her hand in his and kissed her on the back of her hand. "Pleasure to meet you Miss Davis, beautiful woman like you shouldn't be anywhere near my dud of a brother."

Haley hit him in the arm smiling. "Don't forget your wife is standing right here Nathan, at least wait until I'm gone before you start making passes at her!"

Lucas laughed. "I've made my rounds so I think Brooke and I are going to go." He paused and turned to Brooke. "Unless you feel like staying any longer."

Brooke shook her head. "I think an hour is enough for me. We should probably go I don't want to be out too late."

Lucas nodded, and kissed Haley on the cheek and patted his brother on the back. "We're going you guys, if anyone asks for me tell them I got sick and had to leave early."

Nathan laughed. "Always avoiding those responsibilities bro."

Lucas rolled his eyes before guiding Brooke out of the room. As promised they went to a little café across the street from the party's whereabouts so there was no need to get the car from the valet. She smiled at the homey atmosphere of the café and was thankful she didn't feel overdressed.

"Did you enjoy the benefit?" He asked her as he shrugged off his coat jacket. He waved over the waiter and he arrived with two menus for them to look at.

"Very much, you seem like you enjoy your job." She said.

"It has its good sides and its down sides, I work late and I'm constantly getting called away by a client but I get to meet pretty ladies like you all the time."

She blushed which Brooke could already foresee becoming a regular occurrence that night. "Flattery goes a long way in your field doesn't it? I'm sure you must used to throwing out the compliments."

"No I only do it for special people. You happen to be one of them."

They waiter came then and Lucas broke eye contact with her as he ordered his food. She did the same while trying to calm her nerves. She didn't want to let him get to her. The waiter left again and they were left once again to themselves.

"Why don't we get the business portion out of the way, I want to get to know you." Lucas said brandishing some papers from an inside pocket. He smoothed them out and placed them in front of her. "I did have some time to think it over, you impressed me so much that I went ahead and got my lawyer to draw up some papers."

She smiled happily. "Thank you Lucas." She reached for her purse and put her wire-rimmed black glasses on before skimming the contract one, then going back and reading it thoroughly. Satisfied with the terms she saw she pulled out a pen and signed it.

Lucas did the same and the deal was complete, Filly magazine as well as all of its affiliates had interviewing rights to all of Promotex's athletes. Brooke grinned, she had gotten her job done.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way can we get to know each other a little more?" Lucas asked.

Despite what her heart was telling her Brooke shook her head. "Lucas I don't think that's possible. I already told you I don't date clients."

"Technically." He said. "I'm not your client anymore, I'm your partner."

She smiled at that. "How about we start off with just being friends?"

"You see friends, that's something I can do. Completely cutting myself off from you, isn't something I think I could handle."

"Again with the flattery, you're really rather good at it."

He smiled coyly. "Am I having an effect on you?"

They're food arrived then and Brooke thanked whoever was her savior for the night for the interruption. She didn't think she wanted to answer that question. They ate in silence occasionally commenting on the food or on people arriving. When they were both done, Brooke suddenly felt like prolonging the time they were spending together, she was enjoying his company immensely.

She ordered desert for both of them to Lucas's amusement she noticed and then decided to question him some more.

"Since we're doing this whole friendship thing how about you tell me a little bit more about yourself?"

"Only if you return the favor." He answered.

She nodded and he settled back in his chair to begin his story. "I told you already that I grew up in Palm Beach, Florida. My dad, Dan Scott was also really big on sports, but during college he got into an accident that basically nixed his chances of going pro ever. He basically took out his dreams on Nathan and me, constantly pushing us towards becoming athletes so we'd accomplish what he couldn't. Nathan and I didn't like the idea of that so we rebelled and Dan cut us off."

She wrinkled her nose at that. "What do you mean cut you off?"

"He kicked us out the house and told us when we figured out that he was right we could come back and live with him." Lucas laughed at the memory. "It was terrible at first, going from being one of the richest folks in town to living with my mother who wasn't that well off. It wasn't a pleasant experience but Nathan and I was determined to make it without Dan's help and as you can see we did."

"Do you ever talk to him now?"

Lucas smiled sadly. "Dan will probably stay mad at me for the rest of his life, but he still talks to Nathan."

Brooke was confused at this. "I don't understand, both of you rebelled but he only talks to Nathan?"

"That's another long story that would take another date to tell." He said. "So what about you? Tell me something else about your past."

Brooke took a spoonful of her ice cream and thought about what she could tell him. "I grew up without my parents. They were always gone off on some vacation leaving me with the nanny and way too much time on my hands with little to no authority. So I became the bad child. I drank, took drugs, and basically did anything I could think of to get my parents attention."

"Did it work?" He asked.

Brooke snorted. "No, they just thought that I needed some more money to keep me busy so they gave me a larger bank account."

She sighed rubbing her eyes. "Are you tired?" Lucas asked.

She smiled at him. "Yes, but I'm having too much fun with you."

Lucas grinned at that. "How about I drop you home and you can have some more fun with me tomorrow?"

"That sounds good." She agreed. "You've taken me out two times already so why don't I plan what we'll do tomorrow?"

He cocked his head slightly. "No shopping or overly girly things please!"

"Never, I wouldn't want to put a damper on your masculinity." Brooke said sarcastically.

He laughed and helped her up. "Shall we go Miss Davis?"

"I think we shall Mr. Scott."

TBC

**A/N:** Reviews are my drug as usual. I got a great response to the first chapter and prologue so expect to see updates coming a little faster.


	4. Part 3

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 3**

_"If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew to serve your turn long after they are gone, and so hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: 'Hold on!'" - Rudyard Kipling_

Brooke lounged leisurely in the Manhattan office of Filly magazine. Surveying her work she couldn't help but smile at how life was working out. Less than 48 hours ago she had met and already had two dates with Lucas Scott, the charismatic man that had swept her off her feet. Last night when she had come home from their dinner she had immediately called Peyton and of course Peyton had responded with her usual psychobabble.

- FLASHBACK -

_Brooke kicked off her shoes as she walked into her small apartment. Walking to her room she picked up her house phone along the way punching in Peyton's phone number. They had both already agreed that Brooke would call her when she got home no matter how late it was. She changed into her pajamas while she waited for Peyton to pick up._

_Peyton answered voice muted and breathing heavy. "Hey Brooke."_

"_Did I wake you up? You sound like you just ran a marathon."_

"_Couldn't find the phone and I didn't want to wake Jenny up." She said. "So tell me what happened."_

"_I got the contract."_

_Peyton groaned. "Brooke, that was a given I could care less about that. What happened with Mr. Scott?"_

_Brooke rolled her eyes. "The benefit was fun. I met his brother and his brother's wife. They seem nice."_

"_Brooke you have got to be kidding me. Tell me the details now or I'm hanging up."_

_She laughed and gave in, knowing she would tell her eventually. "If I wasn't on a strike from men I would so go after him." Brooke admitted and Peyton squealed. "He's charming, intelligent, funny, and best thing of all different."_

"_B, he sounds like heaven. Can't you just try it out?"_

"_Peyt we went through this, I'm not ready to go out with any new guys anytime soon."_

_Peyton sighed. "Was he interested in you?"_

_Brooke smiled remembering how heavy Lucas had laid the compliments. "Yeah but I told him I just wanted to be friends. We're going out again—as friends—tomorrow."_

_Peyton snorted and Brooke could have sworn she heard the girl mutter something under her breath. Regardless Peyton spoke up and asked. "Oh where?" _

"_I don't know I haven't decided yet. I volunteered to pick the place." _

"_How about you bring him to my showing?" _

_Brooke's eyes widened, she knew she was friends with Peyton for a reason. "Peyton you're a genius! Your showing is midday so I'll bring him there and then we'll go to the park for lunch."_

"_The park for lunch? Are you sure you're not trying to lead this guy on? That sounds a little romantic to me."_

"_Peyton you and I go to the park all the time, it doesn't mean I'm trying to lead you on!"_

"_You never know, I know you think I'm sexy Brooke." She joked._

"_Ok, hanging up now."_

_Peyton laughed. "See you at the showing."_

- FLASHBACK -

Brooke glanced at the clock. Lucas should be there any minute and then they were off to the showing. He had seemed excited when she had called, telling her that he hadn't expected her to call at all and that he would have had to track her down.

There was a soft knock on her door and then it opened to reveal her secretary. "A Lucas Scott is waiting for you in the lobby."

Brooke nodded. "Tell him I'll be down in a second." The secretary left and Brooke snatched up her bag and stuffed the essentials in it. Walking briskly to the elevator she made her way downstairs on the elevator. The doors opened to reveal Lucas looking at all the magazines scattered around the office. He looked up as he heard her step into the lobby and gave her a bright smile.

"Looking lovely as usual Brooke." He complimented her.

"And you seem to never run out of those compliments Lucas."

"Seeing you inspires them."

She blushed. "We should go."

"Are we taking a taxi? I have one waiting outside."

She nodded and followed him out to the taxi where Brooke told the man where to go. They settled back and Brooke felt the urge to know more about the man sitting next to her.

"How about another session of QA?"

He locked his gaze on hers, shrugging. "I didn't think I was that interesting."

"What you told me yesterday is still nagging me." She confessed. "Your relationship with your dad versus his relationship with Nathan."

"Oh…" He murmured comprehension dawning on him. "It's really simple. Nathan's my half brother, when Dan was in high school he got my mother pregnant with me and ditched her and a couple months later in college got Nathan's mother pregnant but stayed with her."

Brooke stared at him. "You're not serious."

He laughed. "I told you I came from a dysfunctional fairytale of a life."

"I interrupted you continue." She urged.

"My mom fell in love with Dan's brother Keith and they got married and moved to Florida. Dan on the other hand finished college opened up a chain of car dealerships and then retired to Florida a couple years later. I met Nathan when I was seven or eight. Deb—Nathan's mother—and my mom were good friends and decided that Nate and I needed to have a relationship so Nate and I got really close.

Dan was pissed off at this because he really didn't accept me as his child. When I was 13, Deb died and Dan snapped, he took my mother to court. He petitioned for custody of me and because he's Dan Scott he won. Couple years later when Nate and I got sick of his control issues is when he kicked us out and basically blamed me for Nate's 'bad behavior'" Lucas finished.

Brooke shook her head in disbelief as the cab pulled up to the front of the gallery. "We're here." She said. As she got out of the car she threw another comment back at him. "I see the dysfunctional part of your childhood but not the fairytale part."

Lucas shrugged. "Another story for another time."

They entered the gallery and Brooke searched for Peyton, she pulled him towards the back of the room where she had spotted the curly blonde's head. "Peyton!" Brooke shouted. "You have an awesome turn out!"

Peyton nodded looking proud of herself. "Yeah, the man I told you who made the preorder told all of his friends." She acknowledged Lucas a few minutes later. "Lucas, good to see you again."

"Likewise Peyton, you have some amazing talent." He remarked gazing at some of her pieces.

She smiled and Brooke beamed, happy that he noticed. "Thank you."

Brooke and Lucas browsed the small gallery and Brooke gleefully watches as Lucas was continually awed by her best friend's work. "Your friend is seriously talented." Lucas murmured as he looked at a dramatic painting done in various shades of black and white. "Haley would love this one."

Brooke grinned. "Peyton's been painting since we were teenagers."

"Oh really?" He asked. "How'd you two meet?"

"It's actually really sad how we met." Brooke said, smiling sadly at the memory. "I was high off of something once again trying to get my parents attention but this time I got high at a party with a lot of overage guys. Things got too rough and Peyton cam and saved the day. She was drunk, but not drunk enough to notice that those guys would hurt me if I let them which in my state was bound to happen. She dragged me out the party, got her friend to drive us to her house, and got both of us sober enough for her to yell at me."

Lucas smiled. "Stayed friends forever after that?"

Brooke laughed. "Yeah right, that would have been too easy. I got so pissed off at her, some girl telling me how to live my life who I didn't even know, that I slapped her and told her to mind her own business. She hit me back and we started fighting right there in the middle her living room. _Then_ we became friends forever."

Lucas chuckled. "Sounds amazing." He looked up at the painting again and Brooke could literally see the wheels turning in his head. "Can you call Peyton over here?" He asked.

Brooke nodded and went off to find her, bringing her back a couple of minutes later. Peyton looked curiously at him. "What can I do for you Lucas?"

He pointed at the painting behind him. "My friend Haley loves modern artwork, and I was on business for her birthday so I think this painting would be a perfect 'I'm sorry' what do you think?"

Peyton smiled brightly. "I think it'd be perfect. How about you Brooke?"

"I think it's a great idea."

"Well then." Lucas said. "I got the opinions of my very gorgeous friend Brooke, and her very talented friend Peyton so I know this is the right thing to buy. How about I give you 2500 to take it off your hands?"

Peyton gasped. "Lucas it's really not that expensive…"

"But it deserves to be that expensive." He countered. "So I'll write you a check. I should make it out to you?"

Peyton nodded before turning to Brooke a surprised look on her face. "We're talking later." She mouthed to her and Brooke nodded subtly.

Lucas tore the check from his checkbook and handed it to her. "Would you be able to deliver it to her address?"

Peyton nodded again. "Sure, if you go over to that desk in front you can give them this check and the painting number and we'll take care of everything."

Lucas nodded and walked away. "Brooke I'll be right back."

Brooke watched him go and smiled at Peyton. "I told you he was great." Brooke said.

"Yeah I know I'm just trying to figure out why he's still on the market and why you aren't trying to snatch him up."

Brooke gave her a warning look. "We've established why I'm not."

Peyton threw up her hands. "What is the matter with you? You find a great guy that is actually interested in you and you go and act like this!" Peyton said exasperated with her.

"I don't know him well enough yet…" Brooke tried.

"Bullshit Brooke! That can't be the only thing that's holding you back."

"I don't really know what's holding me back. Okay Peyt? I like him, I admit that he's a great guy and I'm having fun hanging out with him but relationships just aren't what I'm looking for right now."

Lucas returned then and seemed to notice the volatile atmosphere because he immediately asked what was wrong. Brooke smiled disarmingly and suggested they go to the park now.

"Peyton, I'll see you later okay?" Brooke said.

Peyton nodded giving her a look that said "jump on the chance while you still have it." Before waving to Lucas and walking off.

Brooke and Lucas exited the gallery and made their way down a couple of blocks until they ran into the park that Brooke was talking about. "So are you going to tell me what just happened back at the gallery?"

"I'd rather not." She murmured.

Lucas sighed and spotted a vendor selling hot dogs and fries. "Well are you hungry? I feel like clogging up my arteries some more."

Brooke cracked a smile. "Sure."

Brooke tried hard to cheer up for Lucas's sake but she couldn't help thinking of Peyton and her view of her as a bitter woman scorned by love. Brooke inwardly groaned, that was exactly what she was. Tim had screwed her over so in turn she was screwing over everyone else she met. She needed to break herself out of that cycle and fast.

"I suddenly feel as if I did something wrong." Lucas said as they sat side by side on a park bench. "You look depressed and you're basically silent."

She plastered on a fake smile. "It's not you Luke, its personal problems."

"Can I help?"

She shook her head. "It's probably something you wouldn't understand." Then she paused and remembered something that Peyton had said. "This might seem out of the blue, but Peyton brought up something that got me thinking. Why don't you have a girlfriend?"

Lucas laughed. "You girls are getting more straightforward everyday!"

"If you don't want to answer…It's probably not any of my business." Brooke said blushing, now that she thought about it the question did seem kind of weird.

He waved off her sort of apology. "Naw I'll answer it, it just caught me by surprise." He took another bite of his hot dog and then swallowed thinking thoughtfully. "I guess it's my job." He started. "Or at least that's what I lead myself to believe. I usually go through women like water. I'll find someone I like and then they'll leave me because of the hours I work at the agency. I haven't met a girl yet who understands how important my work is to me."

"So your lack of a girlfriend is due to your insane hours at work?" She asked skeptically. "Lucas, you're the head of your company if you really wanted to be the type of person who spent time with your girlfriend all you had to do was give some of your clients to other agents at your agency and work a regular 9 to 5 job."

"Yeah I could…" He started.

"I think you don't want to." She said. "You just haven't found the right girl that'll wow you so much you'll change your lifestyle for her."

He looked at her long and hard. "Well you're just full of all sorts of good advice today."

Brooke grinned, and then decided to use Lucas's line on him. "Only with special people."

"So I'm a special person to you?" He asked.

"You have a convenient way of twisting words around to suit you." She commented.

"You didn't answer my question." He pointed out.

She smiled. "I don't think it's going to be answered, so you shouldn't look for one."

He stood up stretching and reached for her hand. "I have to work tomorrow." He said. "But I want to see you again."

Brooke blushed. "Already?"

"I enjoy spending time with you Brooke, you're different from other people I've met." Lucas said. "And I know, again with the compliments." He grinned cutting off the statement he knew was coming. "My brother, Haley, and I usually have dinner together on Friday's. Would you like to come as well?"

"I wouldn't be imposing?" She questioned.

"Not at all, Haley would probably be glad I found a new friend."

Brooke chuckled. "Then I would love to come, I can get a second opinion about you."

"Isn't your opinion enough?"

Brooke looked down at her feet and then up again into his warm crystalline blue eyes. "I don't think I trust my judgment around you." She admitted softly.

He grinned widely at her. "Then you answered two of my questions from before. Yes, I am special to you and yes, I do have an effect on you." He took her hand and they walked to the sidewalk where he called a cab for her, paying the fare before she could reach for her wallet. "I'll call you tomorrow when I'm free."

She nodded. "See you Friday."

"I can't wait."

-

Lucas watched the cab drive away and glanced at his watch. Noting that it was only seven he called a taxi for himself and headed for Haley's house. He was falling for Brooke and fast and he needed his friend's opinion.

He arrived at Nathan and Haley's place and was glad for once his brother wasn't hanging around. As much as he loved his brother and his opinion most days he pretty much figured that Nathan would laugh at Lucas's uneasiness. Haley swung the door open before he could even knock.

"How'd you know it was me?" He asked.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Lucas you're the only one who shows up at my house at all times of the day and night without calling plus Miss Lou saw you coming up and felt the need to call me."

Lucas smiled. "I don't think Miss Lou likes me."

"She doesn't like that you're not married but I am and you always seem to be here. She thinks I'm cheating on Nathan."

Lucas choked back a laugh. "She thinks I'd have an affair with my brother's wife?"

"She's 83 and paranoid, she probably thinks you'd sleep with her." Haley joked.

Lucas cringed. "Jesus Haley, no mental images please!"

"So what's going on? You usually show up at my house with a reason." Haley asked and immediately noticed Lucas's confident exterior shrink a little.

"I'm confused about Brooke." He said. "I want to know if I'm just setting myself up for heartbreak again. She was actually asking me why I didn't have a girlfriend yet. I mean how big of a hint can she give me that she's not interested?" He said in despair.

Haley patted him on the shoulder. "She wants to be friends with you Luke, she didn't promise a relationship. Knowing you though you'll wear her down in a couple of weeks."

Lucas grinned. "I _am _pretty persistent."

Haley giggled as she remembered on of his girlfriends that both she and Nathan hated but Lucas had fell head over heels for her. "Remember Girl # 8, Stephanie?"

Lucas groaned. "Don't even remind me! I chased her for almost a year and she turned out to be a gold digger that killed people for their money."

Haley burst into hysterics. "Remember Lionel? Her ex-boyfriend that called you and warned you about her?"

Lucas started laughing as well changing his voice so it had a higher pitch. "I'm telling you man! Stephanie is one crazy woman! Don't let her rope you into marrying her or you won't last six months! You'll be buried in the ground before your next birthday!" He mocked.

"Then when you broke up with her she started stalking you!" Haley said howling with laughter now.

He shivered, that was the only part that had been seriously frightening. After Stephanie had been kicked out of his penthouse she had shown up again begging for forgiveness. After seeing her nearly everywhere he went he ended up placing a restraining order on her that was still active to this day.

"Thanks Hales." Lucas said as they began to settle down.

She cocked an eyebrow and waited for him to continue. When it didn't look like he was going to elaborate she questioned him. "Thanks for what?"

"Taking my mind off my life. Sometimes I get so sick of it."

She hugged him. "Luke, that's what I'm here for."

TBC

**A/N:** The quotes at the top of each part are just quotes that I think match that particular chapter. I had an anonymous review by someone named Sarah who said that I didn't quote Newton's law of physics correctly. I know that, if I had quoted it directly I would have cited Newton's name, but since I didn't you can infer that it's not the exact wording. Reviews are my drug 3


	5. Part 4

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 4**

_"The entire sum of existence is the magic of being needed by just one other person." – Vi Putnam_

Brooke was slowly going crazy. It had been only two days since she had last seen or spoken to Lucas and she was longing to just hear his voice or see his face. She had unloaded this all on Peyton a few hours earlier and the girl had promptly laughed so hard she had started to cry and told Brooke she was falling hard for him. Brooke couldn't argue with her, she believed she was.

She looked down at the plans for the next edition of Filly and sighed loudly. She couldn't concentrate and was beginning to get fed up with the magazine's layout in general. Thankfully she was interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell phone.

"Hello?" She answered happily, glad to be rid of thoughts about magazines, deadlines, and Lucas Scott.

"Hey Brooke." Lucas said.

Brooke's eyebrows shot up and a slow smile spread over her face. "Hi Lucas, I haven't heard from you in a while."

"Yeah, 2 days and I would tell you the number of hours but I think the time difference would screw it up." He said.

"You're not in town?" She asked.

"Emergency with one of my athletes, he got injured and I went to survey the damage." He said. "I'll be back in time for our dinner though, I was hoping you'd be able to drive there yourself instead of me coming to pick you up. I'd be going to Haley's house straight from the airport."

Brooke nodded to herself. "That's fine. I can drive myself its no big deal."

She could hear his sigh of relief and smiled again. "So how are you?" He asked.

"I'm bored, sitting here mulling over layout designs for the next edition of Filly." She said, suddenly remembering she had deadlines to meet.

"Sounds painful, I wish I was there to help."

"And how would you be able to help? I'm sure a sports agent wouldn't know how to work with the layout of a magazine." She said skeptically.

"You should never underestimate me, I have a lot of hidden talents." Lucas said.

"You'll have to show me one of them one day."

Brooke could faintly hear some noise in the background and heard the abrupt dropping of the phone. "Lucas?" She asked.

She waited several moments and then his voice was heard again calling her name. "Brooke are you there?"

"Yeah I'm here, what's going on? Where are you?"

"The hospital." He said.

"Maybe you should call me back then?" Brooke suggested.

"I think I will, see you later tonight."

"See you." She echoed before hanging up.

Brooke sighed softly to herself and laid her head on her desk in frustration. She didn't want to finish these layout designs, what she really wanted to do was speed up time so she could get to her dinner with Lucas. She was looking forward to learning more about his best friend and brother, finally able to see how he interacted with his family. Brooke growled to herself as her office phone began to ring.

"Filly Magazine, this is Brooke Davis speaking how may I help you?" She asked pleasantly.

"Brooke, it's been a long time." The voice said.

Brooke scoffed to herself and rolled her eyes. "You have some nerve calling me Tim. What's the matter Theresa ditch you for the next hot, rich man that came her way?"

"No need to be hostile Brooke, Theresa and I are doing just fine. I wanted to call and see how you were doing but obviously you're still bitter." He remarked snidely.

"I'm way over your cheating and Theresa's backstabbing, I just don't make it a habit to sugar coat my words. I don't know why you're calling and frankly I don't give a shit. So why don't we get to the point so I can end this conversation."

She heard Tim let out an aggravated sigh and smiled triumphantly. He deserved worse than a tongue lashing, he needed to be hanged for what he had done to her. "Look I didn't want to do this but Theresa insisted on it. We're having an engagement party on Wednesday and we wanted to invite you and Peyton."

Brooke's breath caught in her throat at the word 'engagement.' She couldn't help the ball of hurt that started in her stomach. Looking back on it now she couldn't believe she had been in love with this man! "Why invite me? Does Theresa want to rub it in her face that she stole my fiancé?" She shouted.

"No Brooke, she wants to try to get her friends back! You can't help who you fall in love with Brooke! We didn't set out to hurt you." Tim insisted.

"Please, save me the excuses I got sick of hearing them a year ago." She spat.

"Brooke please just consider it okay? It would mean the world to Theresa if two of the people she grew up with attended her party." Tim said defeated.

"I'll consider it but that's all I'm promising." She said. "Was there anything else?"

"I really am sorry Brooke, I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did." He muttered softly.

Brooke laughed loudly at that. "If you didn't mean it you would have broken off our engagement instead of sleeping with my best friend for months! GOODBYE TIM." She shouted before slamming down the phone.

Brooke took in a deep cleansing breath and let it out, chuckling at the conversation she had just had. She didn't believe that two-timing bastard actually had the audacity to call her and ask her to his _engagement party_.

"He must have been joking." She decided returning back to her layout plans. "I don't think I'd be able to handle it if he hadn't been."

-

Brooke pulled up in front of the Scott's apartment building at a quarter to seven and sat outside gathering her courage. It wouldn't have been that bad if Lucas had been with her but he was arriving later on leaving her to face his family, albeit only a small portion of them, by herself. To make it even worse she didn't know anything about them besides their names, and that they were both rich and famous. In Lucas's stories he had neglected to inform her of anything about his younger brother or long time best friend.

She groaned and rested her head on the steering wheel suddenly realizing that she was going to be alone with his _best friend. _If she was anything like Peyton then Brooke knew she was in for a long night of death glares and whispered conversations while Lucas wasn't looking. Anything to size up the new meat that he had picked up.

"Way to think positive Brooke." She muttered to herself. Opening her car door she grabbed the desert she had bought on the way over and made her way upstairs. "Let's get this over with." She thought.

The door opened to reveal Nathan Scott, Lucas's younger brother and the basketball player of the family. He looked her up and down with a completely blank look on her face before recognition set in. "Brooke Davis right?" He asked.

"Yeah…" She replied. "Lucas said he'd call and tell you that he'd be late and I'd be coming over by myself."

Nathan nodded and let her in. "Haley is in the kitchen so you can take that into there." He said pointing her in the direction of the kitchen. "You can tell Haley I'll be there in a minute."

She nodded and walked off towards the kitchen entering it and stopping in her tracks as she saw Haley practically running back and forth in it looking worried.

"Is something wrong?" Brooke asked.

Haley jumped and looked up. "Brooke you're here!" She said with surprise and spying the desert in her hand breathed a huge sigh of relief. "You're a lifesaver without even knowing it! I ran out of cake mix and was in the process of having a breakdown."

"I'm glad to be of service." Brooke said setting it down on the counter. "Do you need any help?"

Haley shook her head. "No thank you but thanks for the offer. Why don't you sit down and we can talk before Luke gets here."

Brooke smiled inwardly. "I'm not about to get grilled about my intentions am I?" She asked jokingly.

Haley shot her a dead serious look. "Well you are, and since you know you're about to it'd make this process a lot faster."

"Ask away." She said sitting down at the table.

"What do you want from Lucas?" Haley asked not beating around the bush, and then she quickly amended her statement. "I don't want to sound like a bitch but he's my best friend and I love him and he's been so unlucky with relationships."

"I don't know." Brooke answered truthfully. "I like him a lot, but I'm still getting to know him. I just want to see where it takes me."

Haley nodded. "That's understandable, but if you ever feel like it's not going to work out just let him go okay?"

Brooke gave her a strange look. "You're pessimistic, why would I suddenly decide it's not going to work out?"

"I'm not pessimistic, I'm just realistic about Lucas and his life. Not a lot of people can understand how he works or how his schedule works." Haley said.

Brooke waved a hand. "He's told me about his experience with the not understanding girlfriend. I've already told him how I felt about it."

Haley looked at her doubtfully. "If you say so." The door slammed at that moment and Brooke could hear Lucas and Nathan laughing together as they drew nearer to the kitchen. Brooke smiled happily as Lucas walked into the kitchen and got up to meet him. Hugging him she discreetly whispered in his ear that his best friend had been giving her the third degree. He just smiled in response.

"Hey Hales." Lucas said kissing Haley on the cheek. "I didn't miss anything important did I?"

Haley gave him an innocent smile. "Just girl talk Luke, right Brooke?" She said turning to Brooke.

Brooke nodded. "Just girl talk." She repeated rolling her eyes.

"Well dinners done so why don't we get started." Haley said. Brooke helped her take all the food out of the oven and onto serving dishes while Nathan and Lucas set the table. Eventually the four of them sat down at the table to eat.

"So Brooke, you're an editor of a magazine right?" Nathan asked during one of the lulls in the conversation.

She nodded. "I'm the executive editor of Filly magazine. That's how I met Lucas." She answered.

"How do you like it?"

"It's interesting. I love putting together a product that I know my readers will enjoy and of course the parties and celebrities aren't too bad either." She said with a smile.

"How hard was it to start up your magazine?" Haley asked interested.

"Not too hard." Brooke said. "It was easier because I was already in the industry, I was a writer for Elle magazine." Brooke switched gears deciding she needed to question them as well. "So how'd you and Lucas meet Haley?" She asked.

Nathan laughed and shook his head. "Not one of the stories I like to remember."

Lucas smiled. "That's because Haley practically knocked you out!" He turned to Brooke and began the story. "When we were younger Nate was an absolute jerk. Not like he isn't one now but he was even more of one back then. Haley and I had already been friends from elementary school but when I moved in with Nate we got a lot closer because she'd be the person I'd vent to when Dan was out of control with his issues.

When we were like 15 or 16 before we had gotten kicked out the house I invited Haley over and Nathan got a look at her and immediately started making passes. Haley got pissed off and punched him in his face and broke his nose. She told him if he even looked at her wrong again she'd break something else."

Brooke laughed, loving the spunk the girl had. "Wow, Haley you received major cool points for that stunt.

Nathan snorted. "Not done yet, not only did she threaten to break something else she lectured me on how she didn't even know how Lucas and I came from the same father when I obviously inherited Dan's evilness and Lucas didn't."

Haley blushed and kissed her husband. "I was way wrong back then." She said. "Nate was just under some bad influences."

The discussion went on like this for an hour or so, Brooke participating by asking questions about their childhood, work, and other friends they had. Brooke had to admit Nathan and Haley were really and interesting couple that she'd love to have as friends.

"You guys seem really close." Brooke commented. "I wish I had friends like that growing up."

Lucas put an arm around her and gave her a one armed hug. "Life in Palm Beach wasn't all it was cracked up to be. We had way too much problems within our little group of friends." He said.

Haley laughed and started to tell another story. "When we were younger we were friends with this guy named Jake Jagielski. He had so much drama it wasn't even funny. He and this other chick Nikki had a child together and Nikki ran off leaving him to deal with the little girl. Then she would come back periodically to make his life living hell, making our lives hell in the process. I remember one day he just got sick of it and left." Haley said.

Lucas looked thoughtful. "I wonder what ever happened to him."

"Last I heard he moved here." Nathan said. "We talked sometime during college but that was a while ago."

Brooke's ears had perked up at Jake's name, she had tuned out because they had gone off on a tangent reminiscing about the old times but hearing a name she recognized she tuned back in. "Wait…did you say Jake Jagielski?" She asked in disbelief. "You guys know him?"

Lucas nodded looking strangely at her. "Yeah…"

"Jake is engaged to my best friend Peyton Sawyer." She said.

Lucas, Nathan, and Haley's eyebrows all shot up in surprise. "Wow, what a small world." Nathan said in disbelief. "How is he doing? How's the little girl doing?"

"Jake and Peyton are deliriously happy as far as I can tell and Jenny—his little girl—is the sweetest little thing. I'm her god mother."

"That's great. Jake always did deserve some stability. Nikki was one crazy woman." Lucas said. He glanced at his watch and noticed the time. "Wow it's getting late."

Haley smirked at him and then locked eyes with Brooke smiling warmly. "I think Lucas is trying to hint to Nathan and me that he's ready to have you to himself."

Brooke smiled back. "I think I'm about ready to have him to myself as well."

The foursome stood up and Nathan and Haley walked Lucas and Brooke to the door. Haley touched Brooke's arm to gain her attention. "Brooke, it was great meeting you and I'd love to spend more time with you."

Brooke grinned. "I'd love that. You can call Lucas for my number and we'll work something out." She said.

Haley nodded and kissed Lucas on the cheek. "Then I'll see both of you later." Nathan patted his brother on the back and kissed Brooke's cheek. Lucas and Brooke both waved and then turned to walk down stairs. They reached the bottom and Brooke went to go sit on the hood of her car inviting Lucas to do the same. Once he was seated next to her she started to play with his hands.

"Tonight was great." She said. "Haley and Nathan are really nice."

"They like you."

She smiled at that. "I like them too."

"I'm glad you had fun." He said. "Is it pathetic to say I missed you while I was gone?"

"No, because then I'd be pathetic as well. I missed you too." Brooke ran her free hand through her hair.

"What'd Haley talk to you about before I got there?" He asked.

"Oh the usual best friend questions. It was no big deal. I thought it was cute that she worries so much about you."

Lucas smiled fondly. "Hales has been like that since we were younger. I don't take care of myself as much as she thinks I should so she does it herself. Without her I'd probably be lost."

"I'm sure she feels the same way about you, just like I feel the same way about Peyton." Brooke said.

Brooke debated telling him about Tim's party. She had been mulling over it most of the night after finally deciding that Tim's invite hadn't been a joke. She figured if she brought along Lucas then she would be able to survive the already predestined torturous night and she could scope out Tim and Theresa's relationship as well.

"Lucas…" She murmured. "Are you busy Wednesday night?"

"If I am I could always make myself available, you said so yourself." He said with a sly smile. "Why?"

"My ex-fiancé Tim is having an engagement party and I don't think I could survive it alone." She said.

"Ex-fiancé?" Lucas asked raising an eyebrow. "Do tell more."

"Tim Smith was my fiancé a year ago, I met him the year before and I fell in love with him. I thought we were happy but I was wrong right before our rehearsal dinner I found out that he'd been sleeping with someone who I thought was my best friend for months." Tears welled up in Brooke's eyes as she remembered the pain she felt a year ago. "He told me that he thought he could get her out of his system if he just continued doing it and he begged me to understand. Isn't that insane?"

"This guy is an idiot." Lucas agreed. "If I had known you back then I would have beat him up for you."

Brooke smiled and touched Lucas's cheek. "That's nice to know."

He took her hand from his face and kissed it briefly. "Who is he getting engaged to?"

"The same girl he cheated on me with. My ex-best friend Theresa." Brooke said.

"How awkward is that going to be? What was the point of even inviting you?" Lucas asked incredulously.

Brooke shrugged. "He says it's what Theresa wants, she wants to repair her friendship with Peyton and me but I keep thinking it's just to rub his happiness in my face."

"You haven't been happy without him?" Lucas asked a sad tinge to his voice.

Brooke looked up into Lucas's sincere eyes and silently berated herself for making him feel inadequate. "I'm happy with you Lucas." She whispered softly.

Brook closed her eyes briefly to gather up her courage before leaning towards Lucas and planting her lips on his own. She smiled against his mouth as he gasped in surprise, taking the chance to deepen the kiss and explore the warm cavern of his mouth. He kissed back, after he had gotten over the shock, just as enthusiastically until they broke off both in dire need of air.

"What was that for?" He murmured.

She smiled at him and kissed him again on the cheek sliding off the hood of her car and motioning him to do the same. "Will you be able to go with me on Wednesday?" She asked avoiding his question.

He locked eyes with her and sighed softly. "I'll be able to go."

"Good." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her enveloping him in a tight hug. "Then I think it's about time I stopped running."

"Running?" He asked putting some distance in between them.

She smiled. "I think you know what I mean."

He nodded. "I do, but it's too good to be true. I want you to clarify it for me."

"I like you, and I want to try being something more than friends." She said looking directly into his eyes.

He grinned. "I like the sound of that."

TBC


	6. Part 5

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 5**

"_When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us." – Helen Keller_

The past few days had been bliss in Lucas's point of view. (**A/N:** The past few days would be about 4 days…last chapter ended on Friday night this chapter takes place on Wednesday) Brooke Davis had finally stopped running from him and with that they had been spending almost every minute of free time with each other. Slightly difficult with Lucas's wayward schedule and Brooke's staff meetings, but they each understood that their separate careers were important to them and that understanding was something that Lucas was enjoying. She was the first girl he'd dated that understood he wasn't blowing her off for his job, his hours was just a normal thing.

The only thing he was worrying about now was the upcoming engagement party that they would be attending. It was actually tonight and as the hours went by Lucas grew more and more nervous. Consciously he knew that he had nothing to worry about, her ex-fiancé was getting married, nothing could happen between him and Brooke but nonetheless he was still nervous and apprehensive about the night to come.

Lucas swiveled his chair around so that he was facing the large window in back of him. It was a habit, now that he couldn't play basketball, to stare out the window at the world below and contemplate his problems until he came up with a solution. Brooke had been becoming increasingly curious about his refusal to talk about anything that happened to him during his college years to make him stop playing basketball. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell her, but the topic was so painful that he didn't want to broach the subject.

A loud banging on his door broke into his thoughts and he sighed. "Come in."

"Luke you look like your dog died. What's the matter?" Nancy asked.

"Hello to you too Nance." He said with a smile on his face. "What brings you to my office?"

She flicked her strawberry blonde hair over her shoulder and glared at him. "Your brother and his latest antics."

Lucas groaned, not wanting to add Nathan's problems to his already overloaded workload. "What'd my idiot brother do now?"

Nance raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "He didn't call you yet?" She laughed. "He must be afraid of how bad he's going to get yelled at."

"I've been busy with a couple other clients I haven't had time to make any personal calls." Lucas sighed. "What is going on and how bad is it?"

"On a scale of one to five I'd make it a ten." Nancy said. "Haley kicked him out the apartment."

Lucas tried to hold back a laugh. "Are you kidding me? What the hell did he do to deserve that one?"

Nancy looked into her briefcase and pulled out a tabloid spreading it out for Lucas to see and then reading the headline. "Young actress and basketball star seen exiting hotel room." She opened up to the feature story. "They even have pictures from the security tapes."

Lucas groaned louder. "My brother is an idiot."

Nancy smiled. "Damage control on both of our parts is needed for this one Luke. You take the personal front and I'll deal with the tabloids."

"Damnit Nance, why is my brother such an asshole?"

She looked at him. "Luke you don't want me to answer that."

"Stay here, I'm going to go call him and make sure he's not on the streets somewhere drinking."

Nancy laughed as he walked out the office.

Lucas sat down in an empty conference room and dialed his brother's cell hoping that he wouldn't blow up at his too wild younger brother. "Hey Nate." He said when his brother answered. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Nathan groaned not wanting a lecture. "Luke, Nance is going to handle it don't worry about it."

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT?" He yelled. "I'M YOUR AGENT AND YOUR BROTHER IT'S MY **_JOB_** TO WORRY ABOUT YOU!"

"Calm down Luke, none of it's true." He said.

Lucas ran a hand over his agitated features. "Nate they have pictures from the security tapes of the hotel room. Why exactly were you leaving the room at three in the morning with some girl that isn't Haley?"

"Pictures don't mean anything Luke."

"They obviously meant a lot to Haley since she kicked your cheating ass out of the apartment!" He growled.

"I wasn't cheating on her."

"Oh no of course not, you were just having some innocent fun with the next pretty chick that came your way." Lucas said sarcasm heavy in his voice.

"Look Luke, you don't know what you're talking about you weren't there."

"Thank God I wasn't, you wouldn't be alive."

Lucas could tell Nathan was rolling his eyes at that comment. "Where are you staying?" Lucas asked softening his tone.

"My old penthouse, I never sold it."

"I'm coming by there tomorrow, I would come tonight but Brooke and I have a date."

"You don't have to come at all you know." Nathan said hopefully.

Lucas snorted. "You wish."

"I'll see you tomorrow Luke."

"Yeah…" Lucas said before hanging up the phone. He stood up and walked back to his office to catch Brooke and Nancy engaged in a staring match.

"Hey Brooke, what are you doing here?" He asked.

She looked at him and gave him a tight smile. "I thought I'd drop by, I didn't know you would be busy." She said casting a meaningful glance at Nancy.

He wrinkled his forehead in confusion. "Nancy McAllister meet Brooke Davis my girlfriend, and Brooke meet Nancy, Nathan's publicist."

Brooke glared at Nancy before getting up and pecking Lucas softly on the cheek. "I thought I'd take you out for lunch."

He gave her an apologetic smile before declining. "Nathan's got himself into a big mess and Nancy and I have to pull double duty to fix it."

Brooke automatically looked concerned. "What happened?"

"I'll fill you in later, but can you do me a favor and take Hales out for lunch instead?" He asked. "She's probably at her studio right now."

She nodded. "Sure, I'll do anything to help."

He sighed in relief glad he didn't have to feel guilty about not immediately dropping his work and running to see his best friend. He scribbled down her address then gave Brooke a thank you kiss ushering her out the door. "Thank you so much."

She smiled. "No problem, I'll call you later okay?"

He nodded and watched her go before closing his door and turning back to Nancy. "What the hell was going on when I walked in here?"

Nancy shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Your girlfriend doesn't like me."

"Is that even possible? Everyone likes you!" Lucas said.

"I guess she sees me as competition."

Lucas rolled his eyes at that one. "Right…"

Nancy shot him a sexy grin. "Now Lucas, you weren't saying that a couple years ago."

"Nance, key words _a couple years ago_ I haven't thought about you in that way in a long time."

She threw one of his lounge chair pillows at him. "You're so _extremely_ flattering I just wonder where you get all your charm from."

He grinned. "Let's get back to work."

-

Brooke entered the studio with a bag from Subway glancing around to see if she spotted Haley. She did and her heart went out to her, she was sitting in one of the booths crying her eyes out. Brooke squared her shoulders and entered the booth ready for some serious boy bashing.

"Hey Haley. I've come with lunch." She said smiling softly.

Haley quickly wiped her eyes and hurried to stifle her sobs. "Brooke, hi…what brings you here?"

"Lucas was worried and sent me because he couldn't get away from work."

"Yeah I'm sure he and Nance will be bogged down for days with the latest shit Nathan pulled." She said eyes filling with tears again.

Brooke set down the food and separated it, taking a bite into her sub and contemplating what could possibly garner this reaction from the girl. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"My husband is a cheating asshole what more can I say?" She said bitterly.

"I need a little bit more information to work with Haley." Brooke said.

"I was out of town for a day or so, came back and was assaulted by reporters asking me if I approved of my husband's sexual activities while I'm away. I asked what they were talking about and they shoved this tabloid in my face." She said shoving the tabloid at Brooke.

Brooke whistled low as she skimmed through the articles contents. "Have you talked with Nathan about this?"

"I'm too angry to think rationally right now Brooke. I just kicked him out and told him I'd talk to him later."

"I don't think I should be hearing about my husband's life through magazines! Especially about things like this." Haley said rubbing desperately at her eyes.

Brooke reached over the small table and hugged her tightly. "Nathan's an ass Hales, but he's _your _ass and you need to talk to him about this before it grows into a bigger situation then it already is."

"I don't even want to deal with this anymore." Haley said sadly. "It's been like this since high school Brooke. Nathan would mess up and Lucas would be there to pick up the pieces and talk me into staying with him. I can't handle Nathan and his ways anymore. All it does is get me hurt."

"Maybe Lucas would always try to talk you into staying with him because he knows no matter how angry you are or how stupid Nathan can be you two love each other and you two have the real thing." Brooke said. "Marriage is a work in progress Hales, especially when you're a famous musician who always has to be away and a superstar on the court who's on the road for six months at time."

Haley wiped her eyes again. "I know our schedules are hectic Brooke but that's never been a problem for us."

"It probably has Hales, you two just never took the time to recognize it as a problem." She said gently.

Haley looked at her and smiled gratefully. "Thank you so much Brooke." She hugged her. "I needed someone to tell me this. You may not be Luke but you're a damn good substitute."

Brooke grinned. "I try, so are you going to talk to him?"

Haley nodded. "Yeah I am…and I want to try marriage counseling."

"Good, I'm praying for you two okay?"

Haley nodded again. "Tell Luke that he needs to keep you."

"Hales you're okay now right?" Brooke asked just to make sure. Haley nodded so she decided to ask her a couple of questions. "Do you know anything about Nancy?"

Haley looked at her strangely. "Nancy as in Nathan's publicist?" She asked, when Brooke nodded she did as well. "Yeah, she's been his publicist for a couple of years now so I know her pretty well. Why?"

"Did she and Luke ever have something going on?"

Haley shrugged. "They were good friends before Luke suggested she become Nathan's publicist. They met in college I think and Nate said that Luke liked her for awhile but nothing ever came from it. You're not worried about Nancy are you?" Haley said laughing. "Those two like to flirt with each other but it's nothing serious."

"I know from experience that when men say they're just flirting it can quickly turn into something else."

"You're really worried about her?"

Brooke smiled slightly and nodded. "I'm not a trusting person Haley."

"You don't have to worry about Luke, he doesn't have it in him to cheat on someone."

"I didn't say I was worried about him." She muttered. "Nancy looks like a piranha."

Haley giggled. "If you get to know her she's a sweetheart, and you really have to disregard the comments that she and Luke give each other they've been like that for awhile."

Brooke waved her hand. "I'm sure."

-

The irrational jealousy that Brooke felt around Nancy was transferring over to their date and she could tell Lucas was beyond irritated. She had given him the cold shoulder all night and when he had finally gotten fed up and asked her what was her problem she had blew him off then to. She sighed and grabbed his arm before he could enter the hotel ballroom where the engagement party was being held.

"I was being a bitch earlier, I'm sorry it's not you." She said.

"Yes it is you've been like this since you've met Nancy." He countered.

She blushed and silently cursed whatever magic powers Lucas had in order to figure that one out. "We'll talk about it later, I don't want to fight with you this evening is going to be stressful enough."

He gave in and nodded. "Alright, we'll talk about it later."

They entered the ballroom and were in awe by the fantastic decorating. The party's theme was _A Midsummer's Nights Dream_ and it suited the atmosphere well. Everywhere they turned silver trinkets adorned the ceiling their reflections of light creating designs and patterns on the wall. Brooke took Lucas's arm and led him over to where Tim, Theresa, and Peyton were standing.

Brooke pasted on a fake smile and greeted Theresa with a short hug. "Theresa it is so good to see you, the party is beautiful."

"I'm so glad you could come Brooke" She took Brooke's present from her and handed it to Tim who left to go put it on the table. "Who's this fine gentleman you have with you?"

"This is Lucas Scott my boyfriend." Brooke introduced him. He smiled and took her hand kissing it, and then turned to give a small wave at Peyton.

"Well why don't we let the boys talk while we catch up." She said as Tim returned. "Tim, why don't you take Lucas over to Jake and you can get to know each other."

The two men left and Theresa led Peyton and Brooke over to a small table. "I'm surprised you two came."

Brooke rolled her eyes and tried to keep herself from mauling the skinny bitch. "I thought it'd be rude to turn down your invitation."

"That's the only reason why you came?" She asked.

"No I wanted to hear for myself how much shit you fed Tim to actually get his cheating ass to marry you." Brooke hissed.

Theresa face burned red and she raised her hand to slap Brooke but Brooke caught her hand with a warning look. "Don't act like you don't deserve it you backstabbing slut."

Peyton gasped and hit Brooke lightly. "B, this isn't the time or the place."

"I'm glad someone wants to be a little bit civil towards me." Theresa said her eyes watering.

Peyton glared at her. "You deserve everything she throws at you, just not at your engagement party."

Brooke dropped Theresa's arm and took a step backwards. "What'd you expect me to do when I got here Theresa?" She asked. "Forget all the crap you did to me last year and run to you with a warm heart and open arms? If that's what you wanted you must be crazier than I thought you were."

"I wanted us to start over Brooke." Theresa said quietly. "You've done good for yourself. You have a new boyfriend, a good career, and a cozy life. I just thought we could move on."

"Oh I'm moving on alright." Brooke sneered. "Without you or Tim and it's going just fine."

Tears threatened to spill down Theresa's face just as Tim walked up observing with Jake and Lucas trailing behind him. "What the hell is going on?" He demanded. "Couldn't wait to get your digs in on my fiancée?"

Lucas glared at him. "Back off asshole, she probably deserves everything she's getting."

Brooke smiled gratefully at him. "Tim I don't know what your or Theresa expected me to do here. Act like I'm the happiest person on Earth to be invited? I don't think so!"

A crowd was starting to grow around the six of them interested in what could be starting a fight in the middle of the beautiful engagement party. Everyone was surprised to see Theresa near tears and a red faced Tim yelling at Brooke, who most people in the party had known to be one of Theresa's best friends.

"Brooke why the hell are you acting so childish? Let bygones be bygones we wanted this animosity between the three of us to be over with but all you do is drag it out."

Brooke choked back a laugh before point an accusing finger at him. "Tim you cheated on me for HALF A YEAR with my SLUT of a best friend, then a year later you expect me to come to your party with all smiles? I'm not that forgiving Tim, what I really want to do right now instead of yelling at you is SHOOT YOU, I DETEST THE SIGHT OF YOU!"

Tim rolled his eyes. "Brooke like I said before grow up. You got cheated on, oh well life goes on."

Brooke stared at him blinking back tears; she couldn't believe how insensitive he was being. "You know what Tim. Fuck you." Brooke said softly. "I don't even know why I came here to put up with this from you."

"Because obviously you had some insane belief that if you came here I'd come running back to you on my hands and knees. Get real Brooke, Theresa is better than you any day of the week. You're just a bitter little girl who takes out her problems on everyone else."

Lucas scoffed and pulled Brooke behind him eyes narrowing dangerously. "Look Tim or whatever the hell your name is don't delude yourself. You are not that hot and not that rich for anyone to be falling all over you. You are a cheating bastard that took advantage of Brooke's love for you. Trust me when I say she's way over you and the thought of her even having an inkling of feelings left for you besides hate is a laughable matter. So why don't you take your big ass ego and stick it up your ass, Brooke is better off without you."

He turned to Theresa. "And you, you're even more delusional than Tim. You really expected Brooke to come back and congratulate you for marrying her ex-fiancé? She thinks you're a brain dead slut with no goals in life but to find the next rich thing to attach yourself to so go ahead and keep being a parasite, we'll be on our way."

Theresa let out a loud sob at that and threw herself into Tim's arms. He gave them a friendly wave before dragging Brooke outside of the ballroom and out to the car where they leaned against it.

"Thank you Lucas." Brooke said. "For sticking up for me back there."

He wiped away the tears that were falling at a slow steady pace down her face. "You didn't need to hear any of that. You shouldn't have come."

She smiled. "I know, I don't know why I did." She opened the car door and got in leaning heavily against the seat. "Maybe I thought that if I saw them again I'd finally get some answers for all the crap they put me through."

"Did you get any?"

"Tim's a jerk and always will be one. That's enough of a reason for me."

He nodded and took one of her hands in his. They lapsed into a silence as Lucas pulled out of the parking garage and headed towards Brooke's house. She stopped him and looked up at him with a vulnerable look in her eyes.

"Lucas…" She whispered. "I don't want to go home tonight."

"Are you sure?" He said just as softly.

She squeezed his hand. "Yeah I'm sure."

He made a U-turn and drove to his penthouse, ready to do anything it took to see a smile on her face once again.

TBC

**A/N: **-snickers- Too bad I don't write sex scenes! This fic is rated PG anyway XD.


	7. Part 6

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 6**

_"In love the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two." – Erich Fromm_

Brooke awakened slowly but extremely refreshed her body encased in loving warmth. She smiled and turned around so she didn't wake up the sleeping man beside her. Yesterday night she had been feeling down after their confrontation with Tim and Theresa but at her request Lucas had taken her back to his penthouse and had been a perfect gentleman. He catered to her every need showing her where everything was in his large apartment before guiding her to the bedroom and making his way to the door.

- FLASHBACK -

"_Lucas wait…" Brooke murmured. "I want you to stay with me."_

_His face took on an adorable expression that she couldn't read. "Brooke you don't want me to do that."_

_Brooke got out of the bed and crossed the room quickly, pressing her mouth against his in a hot, passionate, needy kiss. Pushing him against the door and closing it in the process her hands made their way underneath his shirt casually pulling it off and stroking the hard muscles of his chest and stomach._

"_Brooke…" he gasped, kissing along her jaw and making his way down her neck. "We shouldn't do this…you're hurting and I'm going to feel terrible in the morning."_

_She fondled him, teasing him into releasing another moan into her mouth. "Why?" She whispered._

"_I feel like I'm taking advantage of you." He said in between placing kissed along her collarbone, having already peeled the tight dress off of her._

_She grinned evilly, nibbling his ear lobe. "Isn't it the other way around?" _

_They both moaned the other's name when Brooke grinded herself wantonly against his body. He was tight with need for her and she in turn was the same way. "I need you." She gasped._

_He finally gathered enough willpower to push her away, catching her eye and keeping her gaze locked on him. "Brooke…we shouldn't do this." He managed to say firmly._

_She sighed and nodded smiling tearfully. "I know…"_

_He smiled tenderly, wiping her tears away again. "Let's just sleep okay?" He pulled her to the bed and tucked her in getting in beside her and pulling her against his chest. _

"_Thank you…"_

- FLASHBACK -

Now here they both were half naked under the covers and she didn't feel an ounce of shame, just an incredible sense of comfort. That was something new to her, she didn't think she could feel this comfortable with anyone. She ran her hand through his short blonde hair and sighed contently as he moaned and moved closer to her. She continued watching him until he slowly began to wake up.

"Brooke…?" He groaned.

"Yeah it's me." She answered.

His blue eyes opened and he rubbed them sleepily. "What time is it?"

She glanced at the clock on the night stand. "Seven thirty."

He cursed. "I'm late and I still have that mess with Nathan to clean up." He looked at her his apology already ready but Brooke beat him to it. "It's your job Luke, I understand."

"Are you sure? I don't want to leave especially after yesterday…"

She smiled. "I'm fine Luke. Tim can't keep me down that long. You have to go to work."

He nodded and got up and she couldn't help but admire his lean body, all he was wearing was boxers the rest having been pulled off in their desperate struggle that had almost turned into a night she knew she wouldn't have forget. But she had no regrets; she knew that Lucas was right to have stopped her. It would have destroyed their budding relationship if she had just used him for sex.

Ten minutes later he stepped out the bathroom and walked over to the bed leaning over and placing a sweet kiss on her lips. "I'll see you later. Make yourself at home…my maid comes around 12 so you can tell her to wait around until you're ready to leave so she'll lock the door, or if you want to leave before then just call me and I'll tell her to get here earlier."

She waved goodbye and waited a couple minutes until she heard the slamming and locking of the door. She stood up then and took a quick shower trying hard to ignore the feeling to dig through his belongings. Thankfully, her cell phone rang breaking the silence and taking her mind off searching through Lucas's stuff.

Glancing at the caller ID she smiled. "Hey Peyton."

"Brooke Davis are you absolutely insane? What was with you last night? You totally ripped into Theresa and Tim and got Lucas to join in to boot!" Peyton yelled.

"Seeing those two got me so angry Peyt, it was just an undeniable fury that I couldn't control and it came out the way it did. Lucas…" She trailed off smiling to herself. "Lucas said what he did with his own free will."

"Where are you now? I called the office and you weren't there and I called your house and you weren't there either."

"I'm at Lucas's house I didn't feel like being alone after that fight."

"YOU SLEPT WITH HIM?" Peyton yelled.

Brooke laughed. "No Peyt, I wanted to but he stopped me."

"He stopped you? The guy must be more of a saint that I first realized."

Brooke chuckled. "It's nothing like that…he was just stopping us both from making a mistake we both would have regretted."

"Brooke please tell me you plan on keeping that man under lock and key. No one deserves to be that damn nice."

"Believe me Peyt, I plan to." She said smiling. They chatted together for a few minutes while Brooke browsed through Lucas's medicine cabinet having been in there when her cell had rung. She eyed a row of pills on the last shelf of the cabinet with interest. "Hey Peyt…"

"Yeah?"

"Lucas has a row of medicine here…like 6 bottles how sick can he be?" She asked all of a sudden very worried.

"What are they for?"

"I don't know they just have the names of them and how much he should take."

"I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe they're old a lot of people keep old antibiotics." Peyton said. "Brooke, don't jump to conclusions I know you. You're just looking for something to wreck what you two have. Ask him and he'll tell you what they're for."

Brooke let out a shaky breath. She just had to keep repeating to herself that Lucas wasn't a bastard like most of the guys she had dated before. "You're right Peyt, I am one self-destructive mess. I'll talk to him about it. Thank you."

"I'm your best friend it's my job."

"I know…" Brooke said softly. "And I don't think I tell you how much I appreciate it sometimes."

"Oh look…you got me tearing up."

Brooke laughed. "That was the point."

"Oh shut up, I'm going now."

-

Lucas watched hisyounger brother warily. The stress from the past few days was starting to show on his young face. He knew deep down that his brother never really meant to hurt Haley but his actions were reckless, and his reckless behavior however explainable hurt everyone around him.

"Hey Nate."

Nathan smiled slightly at his brother. "Lucas here to save the day once again?" He asked bitterly.

"Nathan don't get angry at me, you don't have a right to." Lucas warned.

Nathan nodded and ran a hand over his face. "I'm sorry."

"I know." Lucas sat on the chair across from Nathan. "Want to tell me what really happened that night?"

"We won the game Luke, and you know how I get after a game. There are parties, girls, and alcohol and the MVP of the game is treated like a king. I had too many drinks and next thing I know I was upstairs with some girl whose name I don't even remember. I don't remember most of the night but I do remember that I didn't have sex with that girl Luke. No matter how drunk I am I would never hurt Haley that way."

Lucas sighed, leaning back in the chair. He had been dealing with Nathan and Haley's problems ever since they had gotten together and frankly he was sick of it. "Nate, you have to shape up."

Nathan looked at him. "What does that mean?"

"It means that your lifestyle is destructing not only yourself but others around you. You constantly have Haley in tears and leave Nancy and I to scramble after you to clean up your messes. Nate I love you but I can't have the stress of wondering when is the next time I'll have to bail you out of jail or suppress some newspapers or comfort Haley because your drinking screwed up your head again."

"Lucas, everyone knows your Mr. Perfect but you don't have to rub it in my face."

"Damnit Nathan don't make this about me! I'm talking about _your_ drinking problems, _your_ screw ups, and _your_ wife." Lucas shouted. He backtracked suddenly knowing that Nate would just get more offensive if he got angry. "Nate I'm trying to help, just hear me out okay?"

Nathan nodded, knowing that his brother wouldn't give up until he had come to some sort of agreement and the stress it would take him to do so wasn't good for his health. "Alright Luke I'm listening."

"You're not just going to listen, you're going to take what I say to heart and act upon it." Lucas said sternly.

Nathan nodded again. "Get on with it."

"Your alcohol is becoming a major problem Nate. I'm going to sign you up for a rehab camp for as long as the counselor feels you need to be there. That means if you have to take some time off of basketball then so be it." Lucas looked at Nathan but Nathan didn't say a word. "I'm also going to get you and Haley marriage counseling. She already agreed to it when I sent Brooke over there to talk to her so you need to agree to it as well. Once again, that will go on for however long it needs to go."

Nathan sighed and looked at his brother knowing that he was telling this for his own good. "Alright Luke." He said tiredly. "Anything else?"

"Nate…this isn't fun for me you know…"

Nathan smiled. "Luke I know it isn't. I'm being a pain in the ass."

Lucas smiled at his brother glad he didn't put up that much of a fight. Breathing a sigh of relief a grimace appeared on his face as a stabbing pain shot through his chest. "Oh shit." He gasped through the pain.

Nathan was immediately at his side. "Lucas what the hell?"

Lucas whimpered softly and slammed his eyes shut as the pain in his chest grew. He thought back slightly to the night before and realized that in all drama there was last night he had forgotten to take his medicine and in the rush to leave the house this morning he had forgotten again. "Well that explains it." He muttered to himself.

"Explains what? Luke is it your heart?" Nathan growled and snatched for Lucas's cell. "I need an ambulance here as fast as humanly possible!"

Lucas tried to speak through it but couldn't, knowing that Nathan was blowing this all out of proportion. Regardless the pain was too strong and Lucas passed out, losing the war against unconsciousness.

-

"What the hell is going on?" Brooke growled at Nathan upon entering the emergency waiting room.

"Lucas passed out." Nathan said tiredly. "It's his heart condition…"

Brooke eyes widened. "Heart condition?"

"Ask Haley when she gets here, I have to go fill out forms for Luke."

Brooke wanted to protest, demand that Nathan tell her right now but she knew thinking like that was selfish. His brother was in a hospital bed and he must be exhausted. It hadn't even reached two o'clock yet and she could see the dark circles under his eyes.

So she waited, and no one told her anything. She was just about to blow up when Haley arrived her face red with exertion. "Brooke how is Lucas?"

"I don't know no one will tell me anything."

Haley narrowed her eyes and marched up to the nurses' station. "Hi, I'm Haley Scott and my brother-in-law is in here and I need to see him _now._"

The nurse's eyes widened and she immediately shuffled through the papers and looked for Lucas's chart. "Lucas Scott right?" She stammered.

"As if there is any other damn Scott in this hospital, _YES_." Haley yelled.

"Room 201 please, right down this hallway and to the left."

Haley rolled her eyes and Brooke followed her down the hallway to Lucas's room. Opening it they saw Nathan sitting in a chair asleep by his brother's bedside and Lucas up staring out the window. "Hey Luke." Brooke said softly. "Are you okay?"

He smiled at Brooke and Haley. "I'm fine, a little relapse because I haven't been taking my medication as religiously as I should be."

"A little relapse?" Haley shouted breaking up the moment between Brooke and Lucas. "Lucas if you didn't notice you're in a hospital bed! Don't you _ever_ scare me like this again or the next time you end up in the hospital they'll be pronouncing you dead!" Haley burst into tears then and this awoke Nathan, he went to her and surprisingly she let him hold her against him.

Brooke raised an eyebrow at Haley and then turned to Lucas. "So when were you going to tell me about this heart condition you have?"

He looked down guiltily. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it was important."

"You didn't think it was important to tell me about your health?" Brooke eyed him incredulously. "Luke you must be kidding me."

"Well Brooke my heart condition isn't something you can just bring up in the middle of Sunday brunch." He said sarcastically.

Brooke closed her eyes and counted to ten then looked back at Nathan and Haley who were watching them. She glared at Nathan enough so he would get the hint and giving the two of them a wave he walked out the hospital room dragging Haley along with him. Brooke walked to the door and shut it and then sat in the now vacant seat, all while Lucas stared at her.

"Tell me how it happened. Now." She said.

He sighed and seeing that he wasn't going to win got comfortable. "I told you that Dan had a problem in college and he never was able to play basketball again didn't I?" He asked.

She nodded not sure where this was going. "Well the reason why he wasn't able to play anymore was because at one of his check ups they found out that he had a genetic heart defect called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, otherwise knows as HCM. It's a thickening of the heart that obstructs flow of the blood and causes abnormal heart rhythms."

Brooke's eyes filled with tears the questions about his college life that she had been asking since she met him finally being answered. "Oh Lucas…"

"When I was in college I was on my basketball team and you were right when they called Nathan and me an impenetrable pair, but one day at practice I started getting these weird chest pains and I brushed it off thinking it was just exertion from practice." Lucas eyes clouded with tears and he struggled to get the rest of the story out. "The next thing I know the pain got so intense that I could barely stand and the last thing I remember before passing out is Nathan screaming my name. Everything else is a blur…" He whispered. "But I didn't wake up for almost a week they told me. Then they diagnosed me with HCM and told me if I wanted to live I had to give up basketball, it was putting to much stress on my heart."

Brooke got up and crossed the room climbing onto his small hospital bed and hugging him. "Lucas I'm so sorry."

He smiled and kissed her. "I was born with it, there's nothing anyone can do about it. Going pro had been a goal for me for so long but I had to realize that there were other things in life besides basketball that could make me happy."

"Do you miss it?"

He smiled sadly. "All the time, especially when I'm so close to the game but can never play it. But like I said, I care more about my life and how playing basketball would affect my chances of survival to ever try playing it again."

Brooke sighed. "Earlier this morning Peyton called me and she distracted me so much I started looking through your medicine cabinet…"

"And you saw all the prescriptions?" He finished.

She nodded. "It scared me to death."

He smiled lopsided at her. "They're all the medications that deal with either HCM itself or the symptoms."

"Are you in pain a lot?"

"If I do the dosages when I'm supposed to not really. I have a constant headache but I've had it so long that I barely notice themunless I get stressed out, then it develops into a migraine which puts me out for awhile."

She notices that he's tired and his voice has begun to strain a little so she stops her questioning, for now at least. "You should go to sleep." She says.

"I'm not tired." He mumbles but she knows he's lying so she kissed him on the forehead and slipped off the bed careful not to disturb any of the machines. "I'll see you later okay?"

Brooke smiled again seeing that he nodded off and stepped outside to see Nathan and Haley waiting for her. She noticed they were looking cozy with one another again but decided not to question it. "How's Luke?" Haley asked.

"Asleep."

Nathan and Haley nodded walking back to their seats in the small waiting room across from his room. "I called Karen, Keith, and my dad." Nathan said.

Brooke nodded. "Are they coming up here?"

Nathan sighed. "I don't want them too I have a feeling they will just make it worse but I'm pretty sure they all are."

"Are they that bad?"

Nathan rolled his eyes and Haley started to laugh. "Karen and Keith not so much but Dan is a category all of his own that man is a reincarnation of the devil who only likes Lucas when he feels like it."

"Hales…" Nathan said with a warning in his voice.

Haley glared at him. "Dan Scott is an evil, lying, manipulative bastard who only uses his sons as leverage and property. I don't like him, and Brooke I don't think you will either."

Nathan shook his head used to Haley's opinions about his father and got up when his cell phone rang. "That's probably my dad with information about his flight. I'm going to go take this."

Haley and Brooke both watched him go then fell into a silence both girls sinking back into their own thoughts. Brooke smiled slightly and leaned into the stiff hospital chair when she realized just how deep her feelings went for the sick man sleeping in the room across from her.

"Haley…do you believe in love at first sight?" She asked.

Haley just blinked. "Umm…not really Brooke. It took a while for me to even admit I liked Nathan. Why?"

"I didn't think I believe in it either." Brooke said dreamily, not really paying attention to the answer Haley had given her.

"Then why bring it up?"

"Because I started believing in it when I met Lucas. Hales…I think I'm in love with him." She whispered.

Brooke shut her eyes tightly. Two weeks and already thinking she was in love? Now _that _was definitely something new.

TBC

**A/N**: I think that's the cutest ending I've ever written.


	8. Part 7

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 7**

_"Nothing can be more absurd than the practice that prevails in our country of men and women not following the same pursuits with all their strengths and with one mind, for thus, the state instead of being whole is reduced to half." - Plato_

Brooke watched Lucas sleep silently not really worried about the day to come. She knew she should be, she had been warned enough about Dan Scott and his control issues, but she couldn't force her mind to focus on her nervousness it was more concerned with the giddiness she had been feeling since her admission to Haley about her growing feelings for Lucas.

He stirred next to her and she smiled slightly, glad to see that he was waking up. She had been so worried last night until Nathan and the doctor had both explained that something was up with his medicine and they were just keeping him for observation.

"Hey Brooke…" He murmured.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I've been asleep for years." He said pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"Good, the doctor said you've been stressing yourself out and that along with your medication not being strong enough caused you the mini stroke."

His eyebrow rose. "I had a mini stroke?"

She nodded and her eyes filled with tears. "You have to take it easy for a couple weeks Mr. Scott, I'm not letting you put yourself in the hospital again."

"I'm sorry I scared you."

She smiled wiping her tears away. "You said that yesterday and I know it's not your fault." She switched subjects, now that she knew he was going to be okay she didn't want to dwell on the what if's.

"Nathan and Haley went home." She said. "Nathan said to tell you that he's signed up for the AA classes and Haley's going to find them a marriage counselor."

Lucas closed his eyes in relief before opening them again and grinning. "They're not breaking up."

"No, I guess they're not."

She watched him watch her and grew uncomfortable with the soul searching stare he was giving her. "What is it?" She asked.

"Are you still mad about Nancy?"

"I wasn't mad, I was jealous."

"Jealous of what exactly? I'm your boyfriend—not Nancy's, I think about you every day—not Nancy, I want you to come home with me—not Nancy." He insisted.

"Its new relationship insecurities, I have a load of them you should probably get used to me getting mad for no reason for at least the next two months." She joked.

"Hey, hey, hey don't pass this off as a joke Brooke I'm serious." He said. "I don't want you to be jealous of Nancy. We're close friends that's all we ever have been and all we ever will be. Once you get to know her you see that Nancy thinks of me as the little brother she never had and I think of her as the older sister I never had. What I feel for her is purely platonic."

Brooke nodded. "Okay, I'll try not to be jealous of her but I can't help it she's Nathan's publicist so chances are she'll see you more than I see you."

"I see her in the office and all we do is work. If I see her anywhere else you'll probably be with me, but Brooke _listen to me_, Carmen Elektra could walk in her right now and I'd _only have eyes for you_. I want to be with you, not anyone else."

"How do you know that already, we've barely been together 2 weeks?"

He grinned and kissed her passionately. "I have an instinct about you Brooke Davis." He murmured.

She smiled and pulled away settling into the hospital chair before breaking the next set of news to him. "So your parents are coming for a couple days." She said nonchalantly.

He dropped the glass he had just picked up and it shattered on the floor causing Brooke to jump and glare at him. "What in the hell? Why are they coming up here?" He asked.

Brooke glared at him again while cleaning up the mess he made. "They're your parents! That's a solid enough reason for me."

"Brooke I don't think I have to explain to you that if the doctors want me to get better my parents shouldn't be here. My mom and dad can't be in the same room together without going for each other's throats and Keith is just stuck in the middle." Lucas groaned. "I hate having to play referee between them!"

"Luke your parents can't be that horrible."

"Your right, they're worse." He muttered. "Plus it's too early for you to go through Dan's lie detector test."

She blinked hard at that. "His what?"

"Dan put one of the girls I dated through a lie detector test because he though she was dating me for my money." He said.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "And he TOLD you that?"

"No I heard it from Nathan who didn't find out until the police department called the house and he answered the phone." He sighed rubbing his eyes. "Dan has never once liked any girl I've dated and he usually takes it upon himself to make sure I'm dating a girl that's up to his standards so he sabotages my relationships. I don't want that happening to us so maybe you shouldn't be here while he's here."

She looked at him incredulously. "You think I'm actually going to be scared of your father?"

"I didn't say that, but we haven't been dating long enough for you to want to torture yourself with dealing with him. Trust me when I say that after a couple of minutes with him you won't want to worry yourself with dating me."

"Let me worry about that. I want to meet your parents a whole lot more now by the way." She said smiling.

"Brooke…" He started.

"Luke, I have an instinct about you too. So if I have to deal with the father from hell then I will." She said convincingly.

"The father from hell?" The voice asked from the door. "That must mean the big bad Dan Scott is coming to visit us."

Lucas looked over Brooke's shoulder and smiled. "Hey Nance."

"Hey Lucas. Hi Brooke, nice to see you again."

Brooke smiled slightly seeing her wanted to make her throw up. "Likewise."

"So what's this about Dan Scott coming here?" Nancy asked sitting down in another chair.

"Nate must have told him and my mom about me being in the hospital so I'm guessing that's why they decided it was time for a visit." He smiled. "I was just telling Brooke that if she meets my dad she'll probably want to run for the border."

Nancy clucked her tongue sympathetically. "Poor Brooke, you haven't been with Luke that long have you? His father is an all around monster to those he doesn't like and since you're going out with him, he won't like you."

"I think I'll handle myself." She said bitingly.

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "Well here's a hint anyway, tell Dan how successful you are with your magazine and he'll back off. It gives him less of a reason to think you're a gold digger."

"Thanks, but like I said I'll handle myself." Brooke said.

Nancy shrugged. "Don't say I didn't try to help." She turned to Lucas and pecked him on the cheek. "I have to get back to work, call me when you get out of here." Looking over at Brooke she decided to say something to her as well. "Brooke, I think we need to have a chat. Why don't I drop by Filly later on today…I know you'll probably have to catch up on the work you missed."

Lucas looked confused at Nancy's words to Brooke but let it go. "Bye Nance."

Brooke smiled. "Goodbye Nancy."

"Okay what was that?" Lucas asked when Nancy shut the door.

"That was me not liking her, and Nancy noticing it." Brooke said. "Don't worry about it, I'm sure everything will be resolved after today."

-

Lucas sighed to himself; he had sent Brooke home after the doctor had gave him the okay to leave it wasn't as if he didn't want her there but he felt guilty about pulling her away from her job two days in a row. He also had the pending visit of his parents on his mind. He didn't want to deal with them, every time they came to New York they would plead with him to move back to Florida, complain about how he was living his life, or pick on his latest girlfriend. Well that last one was all Dan but that was how he was, Dan didn't make excuses for his personality.

He drove to the office, in dire need of something to take his mind off his parents' arrival but the universe seemed to be working against him because his cell phone rang right as he was getting out the car and he would bet anything it was either his mom or Dan.

Sure enough, when he looked at the caller ID it was his mother. "Hey mom!" Lucas said with forced happiness. "I've been told you guys are coming up to see me."

"Yes, well Nathan said that the doctor said you were running yourself ragged and that's why you relapsed." Karen said accusingly. "I thought you said you were going to take it easy!"

He rolled his eyes. "Mom, I'm sorry okay? Work gets out of hand sometimes and I can't help but run myself ragged that's what being an agent is about, stretching yourself thin so your clients are happy."

"Not so thin that it sends you to the hospital! Lucas Scott don't you try that excuse with me."

"Look I know you're worried about me but you don't have to come up here. I have Nathan, Hales, Brooke, and Nancy all watching out for me like a hawk." He said.

"Who's Brooke?" His mom asked curiously.

"My girlfriend…mom it's not that big of a deal okay so no coming up here!"

"Dan's worried about you." Karen said. "Worried enough to actually have a civil conversation with me."

"Well isn't that a milestone." He muttered. "I'll call him and tell him I'm fine too, so can you promise me you won't come up here?"

"Why are you so against seeing your mother? Was I that horrible to you as a child?" Karen asked.

Lucas immediately shut his eyes guilt flooding his heart. "Mom I didn't say that." He murmured. "But if you come then so will Keith and Dan and I don't want to hear them complain about how I'm living or who I'm seeing. If you want to save me the stress then convince them to leave me alone."

"I haven't seen you in over a year." She protested.

"I have some vacation time coming up in a month or so, I'll visit you then and to make it up to you I'll even drag down Nathan and Haley."

"Are you sure you'll be able to get Nathan and Haley?" She asked doubtfully. "They're even worse when it comes to visits but at least Nathan calls more often."

"Mom, Nathan and Haley won't refuse me okay? I'll even throw in a call a week until I get there." Lucas said smiling.

"Alright, I'll talk to Keith and tell him we're not going." She said defeated.

Lucas mentally cheered. "Thank you mom, I love you."

"I love you too, as rotten as you are to me." Karen said joking,

"Bye mom."

"Bye Lucas."

Lucas sighed and hanged up the phone, leaning his head against the back of his chair. He loved his mom but his step father and father were way too much to deal with on a good day, and if they came up to see him it would definitely not be a good day. His phone rang again and Lucas mentally steeled himself for the caller. He sighed in relief, it was only Nathan.

"Hey Nate." Lucas said.

"You checked yourself out of the hospital before Haley or I could see you, Haley is pissed off about that." Nathan said getting to the point.

"Tell Hales that I'm fine, the doctors think I'm fine, and I must be fine because Brooke left me alone." Lucas said smiling. "I got the 'rents to stay in Florida."

Nathan laughed. "How'd you pull that one?"

"I told her that we'd visit her in a month." Lucas said bracing himself for Nathan's temper.

"Who's we?"

"We meaning you, me, and Haley." Lucas said.

"YOU VOLUNTEERED ME TO GO BACK TO THAT HELL HOLE?" Nathan yelled.

Lucas winced. "Nate, it's not that bad."

"Yes it is. My face has been plastered all over the news for the past couple of weeks Luke. It's one thing to have them calling me and sending their disapproving words over the phone but having me listen to them for god knows how long face to face? It won't happen."

"Hey you brought that upon yourself!" Lucas protested.

"And I'm paying for it! But it'd be torture to subject myself to dad and your mom!" Nathan shot back.

Lucas sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Nate I'm sorry okay? Better down there than up here right? You were going to have to deal with it anyway. Plus it's a month from now maybe they'll forget."

"Forget? Are you kidding me? Karen's still hounding on me for that fling I had a year back when Haley and I were separated."

Lucas laughed loudly. "Any hounding you got for it was well deserved Nathan, don't even try to deny it."

Nathan sighed. "If you weren't my brother I'd hate you."

-

Brooke looked up from the spreads in front of her when her secretary knocked on her door. She had been busy for most of the afternoon rushing in layouts for Filly's next print since she had been absent most of today and the day before. "What is it Leslie?" She asked her secretary annoyed with the interruption.

The younger woman blushed nervously. "There's a woman out here that says she spoke with you earlier about coming by. Nancy McAllister?"

Brooke sighed. "Let her in."

Brooke watched the overly confident woman walk into the room and seat herself directly in front of her. Not missing a beat she immediately opened her mouth to speak. "Okay Brooke, lets get right to the point because I have other things to do besides deal with this insane jealousy you feel towards me."

Brooke raised an eyebrow but didn't say a word.

"Lucas and I have been friends for almost 5 years now. I owe a lot to him and he owes the same to me. I don't like him in any other way than as friends. I don't _want _to like him in any other way than friends. Frankly the prospect makes me sick, it'd be like incest but not really if you get what I'm saying." She said smiling slightly. "We have history that will never go away and I'm not going to break off my friendship with him just because you don't like me and feel threatened by my presence. Luke is a good man, he wouldn't cheat on you and if he did then I'd help you beat him up because that isn't like him."

"When we first met I was probably rude to you and I'm sorry. I get protective over him because his relationships have sucked the past couple of times and with you glaring me down like you was about to fight me it didn't look like you were any better. I've had cat fights with his girlfriends before and when I didn't like them they usually didn't turn out to be good for him anyway." She continued.

"But I figured you were just misunderstanding my relationship with him and I apologize if I projected the belief that I liked him anymore as just a friend. Now I like you, and I think you're good for him so I was hoping that we could just start over." She finished.

Brooke was impressed, the woman hadn't backed down at all. Something that Brooke really admired in people. "Alright." Brooke said. "I'm sorry you had to come all this way to tell me this. My jealously runs rampant sometimes and I let it go for no reason when it came to you."

Nancy smiled amicably brushing off the apology. "Hello, my name is Nancy McAllister. I'm Nathan's publicist and Lucas's long time friend."

Brooke smiled right back already feeling as if the girl in front of her would be a powerful new ally even if her relationship with Lucas didn't work out. "Nice to meet you Nancy, my name is Brooke Davis executive editor of Filly magazine and Lucas's newest girlfriend."

"Now that we have that out of the way how about I take you out to lunch tomorrow? We can even invite Haley along and whoever else you want to bring. It'll be a girl's day out." She said happily.

"Lunch would be fine." Brooke said.

"Good, now I would love to chat but I have to be on my way. Nathan's problems do call!" She exclaimed, and with a hasty goodbye she made her way out the door leaving Brooke smiling at her hyperactiveness.

Brooke settled back in her chair and shook her head ruefully. "Well" She thought to herself. "At least I got that issue cleared up."

TBC

**A/N: **This chapter is a good 400-500 words shorter than all the other chapters AND I've rewritten it about 2 times but I'm tired, give me a break. This chapter was just a filler chapter anyway, the next chapter will be set one month later. I just was making sure you knew why they would be going to and be in Florida the next couple of chapters and why Brooke and Nancy are going to be actually on speaking terms. Gotta love those necessary bridge chapters! Reviews are my drug keep them coming!


	9. Part 8

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 8**

_"People only see what they are prepared to see." - Ralph Waldo Emerson _

_**One Month Later**_

Brooke leaned back comfortably in the first class seat she was riding in for the two hour flight from New York to Florida. It was hard to believe that a month and two weeks had passed by since she had met Lucas and he had swept her right off her feet. Now here she was, flying down to Florida to meet his parents and old friends. Nathan, Haley, and Nancy had all come along. All hoping to ease her worries about meeting the well talked about Scott family, but all Brooke needed was Lucas and he was there, albeit sleeping right now but he was there.

She smiled as she thought of the last month. After Lucas's run in with the hospital she had watched him like a hawk for over a week before he could convince her that he wasn't made of glass and he would not break if she went to work. Even then she had called him almost every half hour to check on him, but he had understood saying that is the situation was reversed he would be even worse. In that time she also grew closer to Haley, Nathan, and Nancy. After their initial bad start, she and Nancy were not the best of friends but they were allies and in her mind that was good enough for now.

In the silence of the early morning flight she was left to her own devices reminiscing on the times that had changed her life in the past month and half with the people that besides Peyton, Jake, and Jenny she now knew to be her extended family.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Lucas asked looking at her with sleepy eyes. "You've have this adorable look on your face, you must be thinking about me."

She grinned and kissed him lightly on the mouth. "Luke, cockiness doesn't become you." She commented. "I was thinking about the past month and a half. It's gone by really quickly."

He raised an eyebrow. "It should have, between you working and me working, you being a jailer when it came to my health, and all those lunches with Haley, Nathan, or I; we've had a pretty busy month."

Brooke's mouth curved into a smile. "I called Peyton and Jake while you were sleeping. They said they were in need of a vacation as well and would meet us there as soon as possible."

"Tell them to hurry, we're only here for three weeks. Any longer and my parents lectures will start to corrode my brain." He joked.

Brooke looked apprehensively at him. "What if your parents don't like me?"

"My parents will love you. They'll be so grateful about you taking care of me they'll skip all the interrogations and lie detector tests!"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't joke around I'm serious! Nancy already told me enough horror stories from when she first met your parents. If I have to go through anything like that I'll pass out!"

Nancy poked her head around the seat at that comment, obviously she had been eavesdropping. She was sitting behind them by the aisle. "Brooke I was exaggerating! Dan isn't that horrible! He's a little evil and manipulative but he won't call a private investigator on you."

Lucas laughed. "You told her he called a private investigator?"

Nancy smiled. "It was too good of an opportunity to pass up. You really looked frightened for a second Brooke."

Brooke glared at her. "Nancy, be glad I have a window seat." She threatened.

"We're almost there thank god! I hate airplanes." Haley said from in front of them. She turned back towards the pair and Nathan stuck his head around the seat mimicking Nancy's actions.

"Who's meeting us at the airport Nate?" Lucas asked. "It's the middle of the day everyone's at work."

Nathan smiled. "Remember Anna?" (A/N: Yes, the Anna that is in One Tree Hill right now)

Haley gasped. "Anna Rodriguez? Felix's little sister?"

"That'd be the one." Lucas grumbled. "Did you have to ask her? What happened to Rob or Kyle?"

"Okay we're feeling left out here." Nancy complained. "Not all of us are from Florida we don't know who any of these people are!"

Brooke smiled gratefully at Nancy. "At least someone else understands. If it was just me with these three I'd never know anything!"

Lucas shot her an apologetic look. "Sorry, got caught up in the conversation. Anna and Felix Rodriguez are the brother and sister pair who moved to Palm Beach from North Florida sophomore year. They started hanging around with our group and it was fine, Anna's a nice person and Felix, well he grows on you."

"I'm sensing a 'but' in this dialogue." Nancy predicted.

"I was going out with this girl named Serena in high school and we were really close and serious. Well one day I messed up and cheated with another girl and we broke up. A week or two later Felix started going out with her and it made me miserable. I never got over that and didn't speak to him the rest of the time we were in school." Lucas finished.

"He's forgetting to mention that he cheated on Serena with her best friend Kelly." Nate contributed smirking at Lucas's embarrassment.

"Definitely not one of Lucas's good years." Haley commented. "If I remember correctly that was the year you decided to stop being the 'good kid'" She said laughing.

Brooke and Nancy looked interested. "Lucas not being a good kid? Who would have thought?" Nancy asked.

"It was the year he got on the basketball team. The whole year it was detention after detention, getting drunk, tattoos, girls, and just basic chaos. I probably can't think of a thing Lucas didn't do." Nathan said.

"You have a tattoo?" Brooke squealed. "What of and where is it?"

Lucas glared at Nathan. "It's on my back and it's the Chinese symbol for 'fun'" He grumbled. "Dumb, drunken mistake but whatever."

Their conversation was interrupted by the pilot's voice asking everyone to prepare for landing. Brooke smiled brightly looking out the window at the pretty landscaping. The next three weeks would definitely be something to look forward to.

Lucas squeezed her hand. "Welcome to Florida!"

* * *

Palm Beach International Airport was a bustling airport that was obviously geared towards the rich. It was beautiful inside and out with small boutiques lining the streets on either side of the entrance to the airport.

"Well…" Brooke gasped. "Remind me to come to Florida more often."

Nathan smirked. "Welcome to Palm Beach County, Florida. Home of the rich folks with too much time on their hands."

Haley and Lucas rolled their eyes while searching for Anna and Felix. Lucas would have preferred to just rent a car and leave but he figured it would be rude to just leave their rides standing here waiting for them. From across the baggage claim area he heard someone shouting Nathan's name and he turned seeing the happy faces of Anna and Felix.

"Nathan Scott and he brings along the brother and the wife. Good to see you again!" Felix said clapping Nathan on the back. "Why don't you introduce me to these two lovely ladies right here?"

Lucas struggled to stop himself from rolling eyes before stepping in front of Nathan. "Felix this is Brooke Davis my girlfriend and Nancy McAllister, Nathan's publicist and close friend of ours. Nice to see you again." He drawled sarcastically, he looked at Anna. "Hey Anna, you're acting like a stranger."

Anna smiled. "Hi Lucas, Nate, Haley it's good to see you back in Florida." She said softly.

"I'd love to stand around here and have small talk but I'm starving and this airport is starting to close in on me. Can we leave? Now?" Nancy asked.

"Oh sure, let me take some of your bags." Felix said taking one each of Brooke and Nancy's bags. Anna did the same and they headed to the car. "So how long are you guys staying here for?"

"Three weeks." Haley said. "At least that's the estimated amount of time. I know Lucas and Brooke have to go back but Nate and I need a break so we might stay longer."

Felix nodded. "So how's life up there in New York. You guys act like you couldn't keep in touch with the little people when you got your big careers." He teased.

"Sorry about that man." Nathan said. "But once Luke and I got out of this place it was like heaven and besides our parents who we can barely stand half the time we cut ties with everyone here."

"Understandable." Anna said. "This place wasn't exactly the best place to be back in high school. You're lucky you got out of here."

Sensing that there was more to the story from Anna's aggravated look Lucas prodded for more information. "What happened to you Anna? Your parents weren't really into the whole bonding scene you could have left here at anytime."

Anna shook her head. "I got pregnant a year after you two left and the father lives down here. There's not way I was going to let my child grow up without his father."

His eyes widened and Anna smiled softly at him. "Didn't expect me to get knocked up?"

Lucas smiled back. "Not really Anna, you used to preach about protection to Serena and me."

Nathan suddenly looked curious. "Whatever happened to Serena? Did you guys keep in touch with her?"

Lucas tuned out the conversation have no intention of hearing anything about the first girl's heard he had ever broken. Instead he turned to Brooke and kissed her lightly. "You tired?" He asked.

She shook her head opening her eyes and looking at him. "I'm nervous and hungry." She said. "Don't worry about it though you can keep catching up with your friends."

"We'll be at the hotel in 30 minutes." He said.

"Hey Luke, Serena is still in town are you going to visit her?" Haley asked.

"Why would I want to? I'm sure she wants nothing to do with me." He said.

"On the contrary" Felix but in. "Serena has been asking about you ever since she ran into your mother who said you were coming down. You should probably go visit her as soon as possible."

Lucas glared at Felix. "Whatever, I'll see what happens."

They pulled up in from of the Hilton and they all piled out checking in and then receiving their rooms. They were on the third floor of the magnificent hotel that would be their home for the next three or more weeks. Each of the couples and Nancy had a large suite to themselves. Nathan and Haley's suite was across from Brooke and Lucas's and Nancy's suite was to the left of Nathan's.

They bid Anna and Felix farewell before retreating to their rooms to unpack. It would be a few hours before the group would have to leave for the Scott home so they decided to reconvene in the downstairs lobby thirty minutes before it was time to go.

Lucas smiled contently as he watched Brooke squeal about the contents of the room. It had a private whirlpool Jacuzzi bathtub and continental shower in the large expensive bathroom, the mini bar was filled to the rim with all types of liquor and snacks, and the view from the window was absolutely amazing overlooking the hotels crystalline blue pool and the outlying city.

"I'm guessing you like it?" Lucas said a smile playing on his lips.

Brooke's eyes widened comically. "Like it? Are you insane? I absolutely adore it. This hotel is beautiful Lucas."

"You know what the best part is?" He asked holding out his hand.

She crossed the room and took it, and he pulled her closer to him so his arms were around her small waist. "What?" She murmured huskily.

He kissed her, taking his time to explore her wet mouth. "A large Jacuzzi and a bottle of champagne with our names on it." He said smiling.

She pushed him away laughing softly. "Lucas Scott did you just bring me down to Florida to wind and dine me?"

"That and a whole lot more beautiful." Lucas replied. "Tomorrow night after we sight see around Palm Beach I figured we could go to dinner in Orlando" He sat down on the bed and tugged her down next to him. "It's this cheesy tourist attraction, but it's really a lot of fun."

"What's it called?"

"The Medieval Times Dinner and Tournament." He said. "The restaurant is set in the medieval time period and you watch a jousting tournament while you eat."

Brooke cocked an eyebrow. "Sounds interesting."

"It's worth the money, the shows very cute. Now I think we should take a nap because I'm tired."

Brooke nodded kicking off her shoes and climbing under the covers with Lucas. "I'm still nervous about meeting your parents."

He wrapped an arm around her and laid her head on his chest. "You'll be fine." He mumbled.

* * *

Brooke was a nervous wreck as the crew sat in the Scott's living room. Everyone had tried their hardest to reassure her, but all their words fell on deaf ears. After the stories Luke had told her in the past month about his childhood she was left with the distinct impression that the Scott's were evil people. That was the only solution she could come up with in her head.

They had obviously arrived earlier than Lucas's parents had expected because they had been ushered in by maid and gave snacks with instructions to sit and wait until everyone arrived. She and Nancy had occupied their time by receiving a tour of the house from Lucas and Nathan. Brooke had grown up in a big house with lots of money but not compared to the Scott's house.

The house was more like an estate. It had 6 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms, each individual bedroom acting as a personal suite. There were two stories and a smaller guest house and pool house. The pool was olympic sized and the backyard was fully equipped with basketball court, tennis court, and area for the grill and outside bar. This house was truly loaded.

Finally the group heard a commotion coming from the door and Brooke steeled herself, grabbing Lucas's hand for support.

"Dad!" Nathan said as got up and hugged his father. "Hey Karen, Hi Keith!"

Dan Scott hugged Nathan back and then Karen and Keith took their turns hugging him. Everyone then tackled Lucas, asking him about his health and what the doctor's had said before stopping to be introduced to their friends.

"So who is this?" Dan asked Brooke. "Lucas I hope you aren't creating a harem."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Dad, mom, Keith this is Brooke Davis my girlfriend."

Karen hugged Brooke. "So you're the girl that was taking care of my Lucas the past month?"

Brooke nodded weakly. "That'd be me."

"Well then we have to thank you." Dan said. "Lucas needs someone looking after him."

He turned and gave Nancy and Haley both quick hugs and Keith and Karen followed suit. "Nice to see both of you. I thought Nathan was going to keep you in New York forever Haley."

Haley bit back a smart retort. "We've been busy, we're sorry we haven't visited more often."

They went on with the small talk until dinner was announced by the maid. They all sat down enjoying the good meal before starting up conversation again.

"So Brooke what do you do?" Karen asked.

"I'm the executive editor of Filly magazine." She said.

Dan looked surprised. "I have a few employees at the office who read that magazine. You started it or took over?"

She smiled proudly. "I started the magazine myself a couple years ago."

"What do your parents do?"

"My mom is fashion designer based in Paris and my father is an archaeologist."

"How long have you and Lucas been going out?"

"A month and a half." She said smiling across the table at Lucas who was rolling his eyes at the questioning. Nathan, Haley, and Nancy were all hiding amused smiles as they kept quiet trying to figure just how much questions Dan was going to ask.

"How'd you two meet?"

"I wanted exclusive rights to interview all of his agents. We met at a meeting to discuss the issue."

"You don't have a problem with his work schedule? I know some of his other girlfriends hate it." Karen asked concerned.

Brooke shook her head. "I have a busy work schedule as well, I run a whole magazine. I understand that sometimes work is impossible. So no, I don't have a problem with it."

Dan was sizing her up and Brooke knew it, she didn't expect him to break out in a huge smile though. "Well, I must say you're a lot better than those money grubbing beggars that Lucas usually picks up."

"DAD!" Nathan said trying to keep back his laughter. Lucas just groaned and dropped his head in his hands.

He shrugged. "It's true."

Lucas sighed. "So Keith, how's the car dealership going?" He asked trying to change the subject from his very unsuccessful love life.

"Very good, car sales have been up this season."

Brooke relaxed into her seat as the conversations picked up around her. She was satisfied now that she had seemed to pass Dan's initial inspection of her. Karen and Keith seemed to approve as well. Now she couldn't wait to meet the rest of the uncanny people that made up Lucas's past.

**A/N:** Another shorter than normal chapter but I wanted the arrival and parent inspection over with before I started the drama. Sorry for the delay, I had a busy weekend.


	10. Part 9

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 9**

"_Not that you lied to me but that I no longer believe you - that is what has distressed me." – Friedrich Nietzsche_

Brooke sighed loudly and dramatically stealing one of Nancy's french fries as they sat in the Palm Beach County mall. Brooke, Nancy, and Haley were at the mall while Lucas and Nathan visited their high school and for such a rich area the mall was very boring. They had walked around the mall twice peeking into various stores and maxing out credit cards before stopping at the food court for a light lunch.

"So, when am I going to meet your parents Hales?" Brooke asked.

Haley scoffed. "How about never? They're never home. They're only in town a couple months a year and right now isn't one of those times."

"Hey look at the chick come straight for us." Nancy said pointing out the girl who seemed to know one of them. "She doesn't look familiar to me, who is that?"

Haley gasped loudly and stood up running to hug the girl. "Oh my god! Serena it's so good to see you!"

Brooke and Nancy eyes widened and they threw each other a surprised look. The girl Haley had just deemed Serena was a pretty girl. She was tall and a brunette with blonde highlights. Her eyes were a honey brown and she was wearing the latest designer clothes. "Haley James, I thought I would never see you in Palm Beach again!"

Haley brought her over to the table and introduced her to Nancy and Brooke. "Serena, these are my friends Nancy McAllister and Brooke Davis. Guys, this is Serena Mills."

They shook hands and Serena sat down. "Haley, what are you doing in Palm Beach again?"

"Lucas's parents were worried about his health and we decided to come down and visit to ease their minds."

Serena looked confused. "Lucas is here as well?" She asked looking around.

"Well not here at this point in time. Luke and Nathan are over at Palm Beach High visiting their old teachers. So what's been going on with you?"

"Nothing really, I'm working for my dad as his campaign advisor."

"He's running for mayor again this year?"

Serena rolled her eyes. "When is there a year that he doesn't run? That man is determined on running Palm Beach until he's dead and buried." She smiled and turned to Nancy and Brooke who were beginning to look bored. "So, how are you two related to Haley, Luke, and Nathan?"

"Does it matter?" Nancy asked in a bored tone. Brooke kicked her underneath the table and Nancy smiled through the pain. "I'm Nathan's publicist and a close friend of everyone."

"I'm Lucas's girlfriend." Brooke said.

Serena's eyebrows shot up. "Oh really." She drawled. "How long have you two been going out?"

Brooke and Nancy exchanged another look before Brooke answered. "A month and a half."

"Oh so nothing too serious? You know I was Lucas's girlfriend in high school." She informed her. "We went out for over a year."

"That's nice?" Brooke said hesitantly, not really knowing why Serena had brought that up. "High school was a long time ago."

"Lucas has a track record of not being able to keep a girl happy." Serena warned her. "How many girlfriends has he had since college Hales? 15…20?" She said laughing.

"Okay, little miss mayor's daughter. I don't know where your going with this blast from the past crap you're pulling but Brooke is his girlfriend, Haley is his best friend, and I'm one of his closest friends so if your still bitter about a breakup that happened years ago please do us a favor and shut up, we're not interested." Nancy snapped.

Serena's eyes widened. "I'm not bitter, I was stating a fact. Shouldn't all girls know what they're getting into before it goes wrong?"

"Rest assured Lucas and I are not going to break up anytime soon." Brooke said. "So you can stop trying to scare me away."

She held up her hands in a surrender motion. "Alright I'm sorry if I offended any of you. I hope you're not going to mention this little spat to Lucas. I really do want to see him and I'm sure he won't take kindly to me being rude to any of you."

"It's fine." Haley said waving a hand. "Let me just warn you that Luke has changed a lot since high school. He isn't the same rebellious kid he was in high school. That act he had going on was purely to piss off Dan and he has no reason to act like that anymore."

"He couldn't have changed that much." Serena said doubtfully.

A small smile graced Nancy's face. "Believe me, Lucas is a lot tamer and a whole hell of a lot better behaved than he was in high school or college."

Serena nodded then switched subjects. "Well Hales, how about Nathan? Are you two still married?"

Haley smiled brightly. "Yes, we're going on five years now. We have our share of problems but things are going good for us right now."

"And how are the jobs?"

"I'm still making my music and Nathan is still MVP of the New York Knicks."

Serena looked genuinely happy for Haley. "I'm so glad that you guys got what you wanted in life. I know you three were never really happy here."

"We weren't happy here that's true, but people like you, Felix, and Anna made it worthwhile." Haley assured her. "Speaking of Felix, did everything ever come out of that relationship you guys had in high school?"

The brunette sighed regretfully. "I was still hung up on Luke when I went out with Felix so all I ever succeeded in doing was breaking his heart and my own." She said softly. "If I could take back everything that both he and I did that year I would."

Haley nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure you would Rena."

Serena grinned. "No one has called me that in a long time."

"I'm sorry to break up the catching up session but we have to go meet Luke and Nathan." Nancy said tapping her Louis Vuitton watch. "It was great meeting you Serena."

"I have an idea!" Serena exclaimed. "I want to see Luke and Nate and I'm pretty much done doing what I came here to do so why don't I follow you guys where ever you're going?" She asked.

"Sure, that wouldn't be a problem! I'm sure the guys will be happy to see you."

Brooke was standing behind Serena and glaring daggers at Haley but Haley just smiled apologetically at Brooke and when Serena wasn't looking mouthed a quick "what'd you expect me to do? Say no?"

To the disappointment of Nancy and Brooke, who really didn't like the girl they all went to get their cars. Once in the car and after they made sure Serena was following them Brooke hit Haley over the head. "Jesus Haley, why were you acting so Mrs. Fields back there?"

"Oh my god! SERENA I LOVE YOU, COME HOME WITH ME!" Nancy mocked her in a high screechy voice. "Between you kissing ass and Serena's damn voice I was about to go nuts."

"I wasn't acting that badly!" Haley said glaring. "Serena is old friends with Nate, Luke, and I it would seem strange if I just told her she couldn't come and see them."

"That girl is still in love with Luke and it's SO obvious!" Brooke growled. "And why'd you guys neglect to tell us that he went out with this chick for a year?"

"It wasn't important!" Haley said.

"Jeez, is that the girl that Luke was like heart broken over freshmen year of college?" Nancy asked amused. "That boy is pathetic."

"NANCE" Haley shouted glaring at her through the mirror. "You guys don't like her, I get it. But you're going to have to deal with her because Nate was good friends with her and Luke went out with her for a year."

Nancy snorted. "Brookie's jealous and she has a reason, little Miss Priss is hung up on her boyfriend, sorry if we don't want her hanging around us."

"Nothing to worry about Brooke, Lucas doesn't cheat okay?" Haley said.

"With anyone else I'd be inclined to agree with you Hales." Brooke said. "But he has history with that girl, what if seeing her renews those feelings?" Brooke asked worriedly.

"Ick, what feelings for the ugly bimbo could he still have?" Nancy asked disgusted.

"NOTHING is going to happen." Haley said firmly. "Get that idea out of you head B, and Nancy keep you smart comments to yourself!"

"Yes mother." Nancy retorted.

* * *

Lucas and Nathan were waiting outside the school when the two cars pulled up. They were chatting nonchalantly trying to occupy their time. The girls stepped out the car and Lucas pulled Brooke into a hug kissing her on the forehead then on the mouth.

"Holy shit, Serena Mills?" Nathan asked while his brother was busy.

"Guilty as charged." Serena answered walking over and hugging Nathan tightly. "How have you been Nathan?"

Lucas had broken away from Brooke at the sound of her voice, eyes wide with surprise.

"I've been good, and obviously you have to because you're looking great." Nathan said hugging her back.

"Hey Serena." Lucas said softly. "Long time no see."

Serena turned around and smiled slightly. "Hi Luke."

Lucas crossed the sidewalk and crushed her in a hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too." Serena said. "But, you sure didn't act like it." She accused playfully. "This is my first time hearing from you in years!"

He smiled sheepishly. "Palm Beach and its residents weren't a priority when I left."

Nancy cleared her throat loudly. "Lucas can you catch up with her later? Your parents are expecting us back soon."

Serena adopted a puppy dog look and Lucas couldn't say no to it. "Hey, how about you guys go back and I'm going to ride around with Rena so we can get caught up. She'll drop me by the house later."

Brooke looked at him. "Are you sure your parents won't be mad?"

"They'll be fine, they like Rena. I'll see you later okay honey?" He asked kissing her softly.

She kissed him back. "See you later" she echoed.

Lucas got into the car with Serena and they drove off, Lucas couldn't help but be curious about the woman's life. "So Serena what's been up with you?"

"Nothing much Luke. I'm surviving." She said.

"Looks like you're more than surviving. You're looking good Rena."

"So are you, I've heard great things about Lucas Scott the best sports agent out of UM." She responded quoting one of the many magazine articles he had been featured in.

"Well, I worked hard and got where I wanted to be."

"What are you doing back down here?"

"Did you ever hear about what happened to me in college?" He asked. She shook her head no and he continued. "In college they found out that I had a rare heart disease after I collapsed during practice so it basically screwed my chance of ever playing professional basketball again. It's called HCM and it's a pain in the neck to control. A month or so ago I had a relapse, I collapsed at my brother's apartment and I was stuck in the hospital for two days. My parents were worried but I wouldn't let them come up to New York so I gathered up the gang and we came down here."

Serena gasped softly. "I'm so sorry Luke, a lot of crap has happened to you in the last years huh?"

"More than you'll ever know."

"Whose fault is that?" She asked him bitterly.

"Yours Rena, you're the one that used Felix to get back at me and it backfired." He reminded her gently.

"If you hadn't cheated on me…" She said trailing off.

He shut his eyes. "Rena, I don't want to rehash this. We did it enough in high school."

She pulled into a deserted parking spot that was hidden amongst the trees, about ten miles away from his house. "Do you remember this place?" She asked.

"How could I forget?" He said a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "This is the place we first kissed."

She nodded. "Almost every weekend after we broke up I would come out here and wonder where we went wrong." She confessed. "I would compare myself to Kelly and try to figure out why you would ever choose her over me."

"Don't do this." He warned.

"You never told me why." She said ignoring his comment. "You just used that same old lame excuse every guy uses. 'I was drunk' and instead of trying to work it out with me you cut me off from your life."

"Are you kidding me?" Lucas asked incredulously. "Two weeks later you were out partying with Felix after you had been avoiding me did you expect me to wait forever?"

He groaned and rubbed his hand over his face. "What is the point of this conversation Rena? We both know we did some dumb things in high school. It's been 5 years can't we get over this?"

"You know the saying 'absence makes the heart grow stronger'?" She asked.

"Of course, everyone knows that saying."

"I always thought it was silly. That after a certain amount of time you would just learn to forget that person, but I was wrong. I didn't forget you. I could never forget you." She admitted. "Who would have thought that five years later I would still be in love with you?"

Lucas recoiled at her words, the car suddenly feeling as if it was getting smaller. "Rena don't do this to me."

She kissed him softly at first, but then deepened it reveling in the taste of his mouth. She hadn't tasted him in five years and she was determined to make it worth while. He broke the kiss pulling away from her. "Rena I have a girlfriend."

"I know the one you've been dating for a month and half? Even she said it wasn't serious." She said. "Luke, tell me you don't feel anything for me."

"I can never say that Rena, you were my first love. I was hung up on you all through high school but it's been a long time and I can't go back there again."

Serena searched his compassionate eyes and smiled wickedly before pressing her mouth to his again. He didn't stop her this time, pulling her over the divider of the car and into his lap. He moaned into her mouth and she grinded her small body against his, slipping her warm hands under his shirt and tugging it off. They wrestled each other's clothes off and Lucas whimpered her name in her ear as their making out got serious. Gasping loudly he pushed her off him and opened the car leaning heavily on the car door.

"Lucas?" She asked breathily. "What's wrong?"

He laughed at her. "Serena, I'm standing out here in my boxers after almost having sex with you and you have the nerve to ask me what's wrong?"

"I don't see a problem." She said.

"There is a problem, a really big problem that's in the form a girl with pretty brown eyes and long brown hair and her name happens to be Brooke. Remember her? My girlfriend?" He yelled.

He opened the door and got his clothes hurrying to put them back on. "Put your clothes on and take me home."

She followed his command watching him warily. "Lucas I'm sorry."

"No you're not, but god I am." He said. "I just royally fucked up!" He said hitting the dashboard.

"Are you going to tell her?" She asked.

"It'd be dumb to lie to her, lies always become found out in the end." He said.

"Who's going to tell her Luke? It was just you and me out here." She reasoned.

"I couldn't live with myself if I lied to her."

"You're risking blowing apart your whole relationship because you couldn't live with yourself if you lied?"

"Rena, not everyone's a damn liar like you." He spat.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked coldly.

"Like you really give a damn about me? Everything that happened here tonight was a result of you wanting to get back at me for shit I did years ago. Rena, you never were good at lying to me." He growled.

She smiled. "You always could read people Luke."

They were sitting in front of the Scott house now and Lucas was dreading going inside. He didn't want to lie to Brooke's face and he knew that the vindictiveness in Serena would eventually make her tell.

"Serena, I never want to see you again." He informed her.

"I wasn't planning on making this a daily occurrence." She shot back.

"Go tell your pimp you did a good job." He said as he stepped out the car.

She stuck up her middle finger at him and drove off.

* * *

Brooke found him sitting on the back porch. Everyone had heard him and Serena pull up to the house but when he didn't come in figured that he didn't want to be bothered. Brooke had had enough though, she wanted to know what was going on with him. Sitting out in the dark for a half hour meant something was going on.

She sat down next to him and leaned her head on his shoulder only to have him stiffen up and pull away. "Okay, now something is definitely up." She thought to herself.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" She asked him.

"I don't want to but I know I have to." He responded looking down. "Brooke I'm so sorry."

"This has something to do with Serena doesn't it?"

He nodded. "Brooke, you have to believe me when I say I didn't mean for anything to happen. I just wanted to catch up because she was such a huge part of my life for a long time. Then she just started asking these questions and I fell for everything hook, line, and sinker." He muttered bitterly.

"You're rambling Luke, I'm not getting what's going on." She said.

"I almost slept with Serena tonight." He said bluntly.

Brooke laughed. "You ALMOST slept with her? What did you forget what to do?"

"Brooke I'm so sorry." He whispered.

She desperately wiped away her tears that were falling at a rapid pace. "How'd this happen?"

He sighed. "We were parked in a spot that meant a lot to us back in high school and we were talking, more like arguing, about what went down junior year. All of a sudden she switched topics tells me that she never stopped loving me and kisses me. I pulled away and told her I had a girlfriend, she told me so what and then we kissed again and I didn't pull away until half of our clothes was off."

Brooked nodded. "Do you still love her?"

"Brooke I can't…."

"Answer me!" She shouted, and then lowered her voice. "Does that mean yes?"

"No!" He grabbed her and turned her so she was facing him and not the house. "Brooke I loved her, loved as in past tense. Serena will always be in my heart but I'm not in love with her. Tonight was a mistake that I regret with all my heart. Please Brooke, you believe me don't you?"

"All I believe right now is that you're a bastard." Brooke said angrily. "I'm going inside and I don't want you to come near me."

"Brooke you don't mean that." Lucas said.

"Fuck you Scott, don't you EVER tell me what the fuck I mean." Brooke spat. "Why don't you go finish what you started with your high school sweetheart? This conversation is over!"

She stood up and walked into the house, slamming the door behind her.

TBC

**A/N:** Whoo, that is the end of the highly emotional part 9. I have to say that I loved writing Serena, and she will be making appearances all throughout the next 3 parts or so to stir up trouble with Brooke and Lucas while they try to reconcile. Get ready for an all out cat fight between Serena and Brooke!

To the readers of _This Time Around_, the sequel is finally getting on its way! I finally have a title: Warring Emotions. I'm going to write out a few chapters before I start posting it, so that this story doesn't start to see a delay in updates.


	11. Part 10

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 10**

_"Forgiveness is the answer to the child's dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again." - Dag Hammarskjold_

She had her eyes closed sitting in her and Lucas's hotel room. She was trying hard to restrain herself. As mad as she was at Lucas, she was in too deep with him. She didn't want to leave him and the fact that she knew and acknowledged that she would eventually forgive him just made her even more pissed off at the woman who had initiated the whole thing: Serena, the stupid whore. She wanted to march over there and get into a good old fashioned cat fight but it wouldn't solve anything, and just make Lucas feel worse.

She wanted him here with her, to convince her that he only had eyes for her. It was her fault he wasn't around. After yelling at him last night she had made Haley drop her to the hotel and then sent her back with some of Lucas's clothes with a clear message that he shouldn't come to the hotel for that night.

There was a soft knock on the door and Brooke got up to answer it, hoping it was Lucas. It wasn't, it was Nancy with a bag of Doritos and a big jar of French onion dip.

"When I'm pissed off at the world I always lock myself in my room with a bag of Doritos and some dip." Nancy said pushing her way past Brooke. "Because in the end I know food can't hurt me but the actions of others can."

Brooke smiled. "When you knocked I had hoped it was Lucas."

"Lucas feels terrible if it makes you feel any better." Nancy said. "He's locked himself in his room as well. I'm sure he has the Doritos and dip already out."

"I don't want him to be miserable, he made a mistake I understand that." She said. "He probably thinks I hate him."

Nancy nodded. "Something like that."

"I'm not mad at him, not anymore at least. I just need some time to get past it." She said.

"Hey it's fine with me, but can you tell Luke this so he can stop killing himself about it?" Nancy asked. "Which by the way I'm going to pistol whip that dumb bimbo I knew she was up to no good."

Brooke laughed. "Can I help?"

"I'll give you the first shot." Nancy promised. "Are you sure you're not mad at Lucas?"

"No I'm not sure at all." Brooke admitted. "I want to forgive him so badly but how do I know that it won't happen again? We're here for 2 more weeks and Serena LIVES here."

Nancy shrugged. "There are never any guarantees about anything but what does your gut tell you?"

"That I love him and despite what he did last night I trust him." She whispered. "I don't want to be in love with him Nance, it's too soon for that! If it hurts this much and it's only been a month what happens when he cheats on me again a year from now? It'll ruin me!"

"Who said you could control you heart?" Nancy said. "Love isn't this simple thing that just comes to you. You have to fight for it. You have to claim him as yours and make sure both Lucas and Serena know it."

"That sounds so cave man like." Brooke said giggling. She wiped away a few tears. "Thank you Nancy."

"How about we get out of here? Sitting in this room is starting to depress even me." Nancy said wrinkling her nose. She looked through Brooke's closet and tossed her some clothes. "And jeez, I know you experienced major drama last night but put on some makeup!"

Brooke laughed. "Nance, you're a trip." She walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Just as she finished putting on her clothes and was beginning to put on her makeup she heard a commotion at her door.

"Nance what's…?" She opened the door and peeked outside and gasped when she saw Serena at the door. "What the hell is she doing here?"

"Nice to see you too Brooke!" Serena said giving her a large smile. "I was just asking Nancy where Luke was and I guess I'm not wanted around here."

Brooke stared at her in disbelief. "Lucas wants nothing to do with you."

"That's not what he was saying last night." Serena said smirking.

"Oh I'm sure that what he was saying, for him to want anything to do with an anorexic bubblehead like you is beyond me." Nancy said. "Go find a new hobby Serena, terrorizing us isn't going to be an option."

Serena mock gasped. "Terrorizing? Is that what they're calling it? I thought we were just having a friendly conversation about your cheating bastard of a boyfriend."

"You disgusting whore, if it wasn't for you he wouldn't have cheated on me." Brooke growled. "Why can't you go find someone else's relationship to destruct?"

"You see I would go and mess up Nate and Haley but she's used to him being a dick which is why going after the proverbial good boy is more fun." She explained as if it was common knowledge.

Brooke was fuming and she was sick of Serena's know-it-all attitude. "Serena, get out of my hotel room and go find something better to do with your time."

"Unless you want a black eye, or some broken limbs." Nancy added. "I'm pissed as hell right now and broken bones would make my day."

Serena smirked again. "Now ladies, no need to resort to threats. I'm just here to see how Brookie is doing with the news of her little saint of a boyfriend cheating on her."

Brooke growled and launched herself at Serena before Nancy pulled her back. "You little bitch, get the hell out of my room now and don't let me see you on the streets or I guarantee you won't make it."

"Well, no need to be so pushy…I'm going…" Serena said finally. "See you later ladies."

Nancy slammed the door and Brooke sat down heavily on her bed wanting badly to go after the girl and beat her up. "Nancy she did that on purpose."

Her friend nodded sitting down next to her. "Your right, she wanted to rub it in your face."

"I wanted to hurt her, I STILL want to hurt her." Brooke admitted.

"Trust me Brooke, you aren't the only one. That girl hurt two of the people I'm closest to. If I wasn't worried about jail time I'd kill her myself." Nancy muttered.

* * *

"Hey Luke, I thought you'd want some company." Haley said as she sat down outside with him. Lucas had been out there most of the afternoon after Nathan had forced him out of his room. 

"I'm such an idiot Hales." Lucas said sighing. "Why did I recognize earlier that Serena was playing me?"

"You were in love with her all of high school Luke; you haven't been in contact with her since then. How were you supposed to know that she had changed so drastically and was bitter enough to come up with an elaborate plot to screw up your life?" Haley reasoned.

"I don't want Brooke to leave me." Lucas said eyes filling with tears.

"She's not going to Luke." Haley reassured him. "You two will work through it. If I can deal with Nathan for five years she can deal with you."

He smiled weakly. "Hopefully."

"This vacation isn't exactly turning out how I wanted it to be." Lucas said. "My girlfriend quite possible hates me, Serena's out to ruin my life, what could happen next?"

"Don't say that, the next thing you know you'll be in the hospital again." Haley warned.

"So where's Nate?" Luke asked changing the subject.

Haley shrugged. "After he got you out of the bedroom he took off somewhere. He's probably meeting up with some of the guys."

Lucas's phone rang and he jumped not expecting anyone to call him. "Hello?" He asked.

"Hey Luke its Jake." He said.

"What's up?"

"Peyton and I are flying down tomorrow. We were trying to get in contact with Brooke but she isn't picking up her cell."

"That's probably my fault." Lucas said sighing. "I think she broke it when she threw it at the wall last night."

"Whoa what? Brooke has a temper but she's on vacation I didn't think she'd be angry at anything. What happened?"

"I messed up really bad." He said. "I don't know if I'm going to be able to fix it."

"I'm sure everything will turn out fine in the end Luke." Jake said. "I got to go, I'll call you tomorrow when we get in town."

"Alright." Lucas shut the phone and glanced at Haley who was dozing off. "Whatever happened to keeping me company?"

Haley laughed. "You were on the phone, and to tell you the truth Luke you're so depressing right now you aren't that much fun."

"Well cheer me up, let's go do something." He suggested.

"Well…" She said considering. "There's this new club I heard about on the radio this morning called Club Neptune. I want to go try it out."

"Hales I don't know." He said warily. "Brooke might take it for something else."

"I can remedy that too!" Haley insisted. "Nancy's over there with her doing damage control since Peyton's not here to do it so I'll just tell her to bring Brooke to Club Neptune under the same guise. That way you can grab Brooke and have time to talk so that you guys can get the reconciliation over and done with."

"You really think we're going to get back together?" Lucas asked hopefully.

Haley stared at him for a couple seconds. "Luke sometimes you're so dense! Brooke cares about you a lot, she may even be falling in love with you this may hurt you both for awhile but it's not going to kill your relationship. _Trust me_!"

Lucas nodded. "If there's one thing I can count on Hales, is that you're almost always right. I just hope you're right about this as well."

* * *

The floor of Palm Beach's exclusive and newly renovated Club Neptune was packed with young adults of all ages. The room was pulsating with the sounds of The Neptune's and the place was screaming outrageousness with neon lights dancing to the rhythm of the music in the darkened club. 

Haley and Nathan had already begun to dance. Tossing back enough liquor to keep each of them very occupied for the night. Nancy was on the prowl for a new boy toy. It wasn't easy being a publicist that worked all times of the day and night. It left little to no time to yourself and tonight she was determined to think about herself.

Brooke noted these facts about her three friends and decided to leave well enough alone. They deserved a break from she and Lucas's crazy argument and she wasn't about to infringe on their fun. She hadn't seen Lucas. She knew he was around because he arrived with Haley and Nathan but he had headed straight to the bar and immediately disappeared.

Brooke made her way to the bar as well dancing with random people as she went. She hadn't been to a club in years. The last time she remembered drinking was at her graduation party in high school where she had made a fool of herself. After that night it had been a vow of sobriety. She didn't want to risk ever being that out of control of her actions ever again.

She spotted a mop of blonde hair and immediately picked Lucas out of the crowd of people at the bar. They had been there probably an hour and a half and he already looked as if he was drunk. Her eyes filled with tears when she realized it was his guilt that was doing it to him because Lucas Scott didn't drink for no reason, he had told her that during one of their many heart to hearts.

"Lucas." She said pulling at his arm.

He stared at her confused for a second. "Brooke?" He slurred.

"Yeah it's me honey, we need to get you out of here." Brooke said dragging him along behind her. On their way out the door she snatched Haley away from Nathan a second to retrieve her keys and tell her to find Nancy when they wanted to go home.

When they were at the car she sat him down on the concrete next to it and sat next to him. "If I put you in the car will you throw up?" She asked softly.

He shook his head and then groaned. "Maybe…" he croaked. "I'm sorry Brooke."

"Its okay, come on…" Brooke helped him into the car and then slammed it shut going around to the other side. She periodically checked him as she drove them back to their hotel. When they were both finally situated in their hotel room she looked him over and sighed.

"Why are you doing this you hate me." Lucas said groaning. "You have a right to you know, I did a stupid thing with Serena yesterday, but Brooke I didn't mean it!" He insisted again.

"She visited me today." She said.

"She WHAT?" He yelled then grabbed at his head. "Damnit, my head hurts."

She cracked a smile at his pained state. "Serena wanted to flash her success in my face. I got to say she really did succeed. I had to really use the self control so I didn't kill her."

An amused look passed over Lucas's face before it was replaced with sadness. "I would pay to see that. You would definitely beat Serena down any day of the week." He sighed. "Serena's a vindictive bitch, there isn't any way to sugar coat it. I just wish she didn't have to use me for target practice and I wish you didn't have to be hurt by it."

"I know you didn't want to almost have sex with Serena, and I know that she basically manipulated you into it." Brooke said. "I don't hate you anymore, I never could hate you."

"But yesterday…" He started.

"When I'm angry I lash out Luke, you surprised me and hurt me at the same time. The only thing I could think of to do was to attack you." Brooke said. "I was so angry at you and I just wanted you to feel the same way that I did—hurt."

"Oh I feel it." Luke said laughing bitterly. "If I didn't feel it before it's going to be even worse in the morning."

"Why'd you do that?" Brooke asked. "You said you didn't like to drink too much."

"When Haley, Nathan, and I first arrived at the club I saw you dancing with some guy and it made me realize just how much I screwed up and how I probably lost you." Lucas said. "It hurt…it hurt so much and I just wanted the pain to stop. Nothing dulls better than vodka." He laughed again and he sounded pained. "I sound pathetic."

Brooke wrapped her arms around him, reassuring him and herself that they were going to last. "You didn't lose me Luke, I'm still right here." She said. "I'm not going anywhere because it'd hurt me too much to leave."

"Thank you." Lucas said softly showering her face with small gentle kisses. "Thank you so much."

"For what?" She asked confused.

"Forgiving me, taking me back, being so understanding, I don't know pick one." He said happily. "I want to stay like this forever."

"I want to be with you forever." Brooke admitted.

"Brooke, I know it might be too early in our relationship for this and it might sound silly that I'm saying it but ever since I met you you're the only thing that's been on my mind and you've helped me and changed me so much for the better." He took a breath and smiled slightly. "I love you…I'm in love with you."

Brooke's eyes filled with tears again and Lucas brushed them away kissing her gently, but passionately showing her how much she meant to him. "You don't have to say it back." He said quickly after he broke the kiss. "I'm not expecting you to return the words, I want you to do it when your ready and you know how you really feel about me. But after what happened yesterday and how I felt last night and tonight it made me realize my feelings and I hate that it had to happen that way but I'm glad something good came out of this."

"Oh Lucas…" Brooke said kissing him again. "I want to say it back to you…I do…but I can't not right now, not after what happened."

He smiled sadly. "I know, and I don't want you too. Not until you can say it without thinking of what if I mess up again and break you heart because I'm not Brooke, not ever again."

Lucas broke their embrace, moving towards the bathroom quickly and Brooke couldn't help but starting laughing when she heard him throwing up in the bathroom. "You're such a mood killer!" She said playfully.

She heard him brushing his teeth and he came back out in his boxers a few minutes later. Sliding under the covers he smiled up at her. "I would love to finish this but…my head…it's killing me." He said ruefully.

"Go to sleep." She urged softly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, and I'm glad. I love you." He repeated.

She nodded and watched him as his eyes drooped closed. She wanted to repeat the words back to him so badly, but her heart was hurting. As much as she wanted to forgive and trust him he had to earn it back. Serena the bitch had thrown her world a part but she knew that she and Lucas would survive it. They would, she had no doubt in her mind, be able to bounce back and continue on because she loved him, and he loved her and she knew that love always prevailed.

**TBC**

**A/N:** So they're back together, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to have with the issues between Serena and Brooke. Reviews are my drug!


	12. Part 11

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 11**

_"When bad __men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle." – Edmund Burke_

Brooke waited impatiently at the terminal looking around for her two friends and their daughter that had been her extended family since forever. Jake and Peyton, the dynamic duo and fated couple since they had met were coming down to Palm Beach to spend their vacation with her, Lucas, and everyone else. In the past month the large group of friends that they now consisted of had become closer. She was glad for that. She had gained so many friends in the last month than she had in her whole time in New York. It was one more thing she had to thank Lucas for, the feeling of acceptance that everyone around him had given her since she'd met him.

Her eyes lit up as she saw the blonde mass of curls. As long as Peyton never changed her hairstyle she could be recognized anywhere. No one in America had hair as wild as Peyton's. "P. Sawyer! I'm over here!" She yelled waving her arms at the couple. She laughed happily when Peyton dashed around the crowds of people and hugged her while Jake and Jenny tried to keep up.

Brooke bent down and scooped up the six year old girl. "How's my favorite niece?" She made faces and played with her before remembering they were in the middle of the airport. "So how was your flight?" She asked while directing them out of the crowd.

Peyton looked around the airport dazed. "The flight was crazy Brooke, some nutcase started screaming about bombs and they had to ground the plane for a couple of minutes to calm him down and it turned out he was a paranoid schizophrenic so they escorted him off."

Brooke snorted loudly, trying to stifle her laughter. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack." Peyton said. "Wasn't there a nutcase on the place honey?"

Jake bobbed his head up and down while looking around the airport. "We need to get our bags."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Jake, you're such a guy. Come on it's this way."

"I'm taking that as a compliment, I wouldn't want to be such a girl." He joked. "Where's Lucas? I didn't think he'd let you out of his sight now that you decided to forgive him."

Brooke laughed again. "Lucas isn't in the position to put up a fight. He's probably in the bathroom throwing up or passed out on the couch." She said. "Before we had our heart to heart he got himself smashed at a club we were at."

"Poor guy, Luke could never hold his alcohol." Jake commented.

"So tell me, what's been going on since you've been down here. Well, besides the whole 'Serena conspiracy to break up' drama." Peyton said while scanning for her luggage. "I think I've heard enough about that girl to want her break her in two if I ever see her."

"Get in line behind Nathan, Haley, Nancy, and Luke." Brooke said. "They're all out for blood. It's gotten to the point where if anyone spots her they call Luke and me on our cells for permission to beat her to a pulp. Usually we say no since we can't be there."

"Good call, I wouldn't want to miss that even either. Plus, the girl needs a group beating. Not several beatings."

"So what's been going on? How was meeting the dreadful parents?" Peyton asked.

"It was actually pretty good. After the whole ritual interrogation every parent does they immediately warmed up to me. Nancy, Luke, Hales, and Nate were exaggerating about Dan's evilness. The guy is just over protective." Brooke said. "Wait, there's your bags grab it!"

Jake grabbed their two bags and they headed toward the car. When they reached it and had piled in Brooke took off towards the hotel. "Besides meeting the parents we haven't really done anything. Luke took me to this restaurant called Medieval Times. It was really corny but we had fun anyway and the boys have been visiting old buddies and going to their old school."

"I remember the Medieval Times." Jake said laughing. "Our class went there in middle school. I thought that place was awesome. I got to say it feels good to be back here."

Brooke gasped. "I completely forgot you grew up here Jake. Nate and Luke told me about Jenny's mom. Aren't you scared she might come back?"

He rolled his eyes. "Nikki has no legal rights to Jenny and I haven't seen her in almost 5 years. I doubt she even remembers she has a daughter." He muttered bitterly. "Nikki was a sociopath with no conscious."

"Didn't she send us some letters a few years back?" Peyton asked confused.

"Yeah, she wanted to see Jenny but she never followed through. Let's just hope she either moved out of Florida or doesn't ever hear about us being here." He said. "I don't want her randomly popping up at our hotel room."

"Did you know Serena?" Brooke asked.

"Yeah, the girl's been evil since elementary school. Lucas was just blind to it because he practically grew up with her. Luke thinking she was evil is like him saying Haley is evil. Not a possible thing."

"Well at least I don't have to worry about you defending her." Brooke said smiling slightly. "I'm guessing you're not opposed to me stoning her if I see her in the street."

"Actually, I'll back anything. Running her over would be the best trick otherwise the girl won't leave you alone."

Brooke laughed loudly as she pulled into the hotel parking lot. "Come on you two. I'm pretty sure everyone is by the pool area. They're usually there this time of day."

They dropped off their luggage with the bellboy to be deposited in their hotel room and then followed Brooke to the back of the hotel where the pool was. "Wow this place is beautiful." Peyton exclaimed. "I'd so live here."

"Hey guys!" Brooke greeted Nathan, Haley, and Nancy who were lounging around the pool.

"Hey Brooke, welcome to Florida Peyton, welcome back Jake" were shared all around before the trio pulled up chairs and set them around them. Nancy held Jenny in her lap. "Where's Luke?" Brooke asked.

Haley shrugged. "Probably making the toilet his new best friend, he looked awful this morning."

Brooke looked worried. "You haven't checked on him since then?"

"He's fine Brooke, Luke's a big boy. I'm sure he's on the phone with some clients or something. He'd make any excuse to get some alone time and do work after not doing anything for more than a week."

Brooke fumed. "That _is _something Lucas would do." She flipped her hair. "We need to go to lunch or something; I'm going to go get him from wherever he's hiding. Are we going to go out to eat?"

"I think we should!" Nancy chimed in. "This whole hotel food thing is really overrated. Seriously, I've tried like everything on the menu here."

"Nance, that's because you're a pig." Nathan teased. "You do justice to the family pastime."

Nancy set Jenny down, glared at him, and then tackled him into the pool dunking him under the water as they began to play fight. "Nathan you are SO going down!"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "If those two were anymore like teenagers."

Haley laughed. "That's what we love about them. How about we go to the Cheesecake Factory? It's big and it's not too fancy."

"How's the food?" Peyton asked.

"It's great you'll love it. They give you really large servings too." Haley said.

"Okay, so Cheesecake Factory it is." Jake said. "We're going to have to take two cars, four in each."

Brooke waved her hand. "We'll figure it out."

"Hey you two imbeciles!" She shouted at Nathan and Nancy who were still struggling with each other in the pool. "Get out and go get ready, we're going to the Cheesecake Factory in 10 minutes!"

"Yes mother!" They chorused.

Brooke flicked them off before going up stairs to get Lucas.

* * *

Lucas was occupied in a conference call when Brooke entered the room. He put a finger to his mouth to signal quiet before finishing up his conversation.

"Yes, I won't be available for at least the next week and a half. Yes, I know you don't like my other agents but my life does not revolve around your schedule. I'm your agent not your babysitter!" Brooke laughed as she listened to Lucas's side of the conversation. He looked frustrated but at least the there was no trace of a hangover.

He slammed his cell phone shut and turned to her. "Hey Brooke."

"You feel any better?" She asked.

"I don't feel like I'm going to puke up my stomach anymore." He said cracking a smile. "It was pretty bad this morning but I'm okay now."

Brooke looked remorsefully at him. "I'm sorry I didn't stay and help."

He brushed her apology off. "It wasn't necessary and you had to pick up Peyton and Jake—which by the way—are they here?"

She nodded fiddling with his shirt. "Yeah, they're downstairs with Nance, Hales, and Nate. They brought along Jenny."

Lucas grinned. "Good, I can play with my favorite god daughter."

"You're only god daughter." Brooke reminded him. "It's funny how you two didn't even know you lived in the same city, yet you're still Jenny's god father."

"Well she was born in Palm Beach, I was at the hospital with him and Nikki and everything!" He said defending himself.

She kissed him. "Calm down Luke, I didn't mean anything by it. Speaking of Nikki, do you know if she still lives down here?"

Lucas shook his head. "No, Nikki and I weren't friends. I can ask Anna or Felix later on. Why?"

"Jake doesn't want to be blind-sided by Nikki's arrival. He'd be more careful if he knew she was in the area."

"I'll make sure and call then, Nikki is crazy I'd want as much warning as humanly possible." He muttered.

Brooke glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh shit, I forgot I was supposed to be getting you so we could leave. We're going to go eat lunch."

"Alright then let's go, I'm already dressed."

They headed downstairs to the lobby and ran into Haley. "I was just about to come and get you guys." Haley said. "Jake, Jenny, and Nate are riding with me. You, Luke, Nance, and Peyton can go in Luke's car."

"Fine with me." Brooke said.

Everyone got into their respective SUV's and they started the drive over to the Cheesecake Factory.

"Nance we need to find you a boyfriend." Brooke declared as Luke maneuvered the busy city streets.

Nancy snorted. "Brooke, keep your matchmaking tendencies to yourself. I'm perfectly fine being single. Men are a hassle that I have no time for."

"Nance, whatever happened to that one guy you was dating back in New York?" Lucas asked.

"Are you talking about Danny? That guy was obsessed with Nathan and thought I'd bring him to all the family functions if he went out with me." She said bitterly. "Being Nathan's publicist really screws up any possibility for a love life. Instead of the guy worrying about you, they're worrying about if they can get an autograph or not."

"What? Nance why didn't you ever tell me that?"

"What were you going to do Luke? Tell Nate to stop being MVP?" She softened the tone of her voice. "Luke I'm fine, I'm okay with not having a boyfriend. You know I'm independent I don't need anyone to support me."

"If you say so." He said doubtfully.

They arrived at the newly remodeled Cheesecake Factory in West Palm Beach and waited for the other SUV to pull in behind them. When the others got out Peyton took Jenny from Jake and they walked in. Haley groaned as she caught sight of someone all of them didn't want to see.

"Guys, guess who's decided to make an appearance. If I didn't know any better I would think she was stalking us."

Brooke followed her line of sight and saw her. "Oh damn it, does Serena not have anywhere else to go but plan where and when she's going to meet us?"

"Apparently not." Nancy said. "Who's for going over there and dragging her out by the hair and beating the shit out of her?"

"Hey little kid nearby!" Peyton reminded her.

"Sorry Jenny!" Nancy said to the little girl. "But she gets me angry."

"How about we ignore her for now?" Nathan cut in. "If one of you just goes up there and hits her you'll be thrown in jail. Her dad is the mayor you know."

The group grudgingly went to their own table located outside and were ordering their food. They had just begun to forget that they had even saw Serena when she came up to their table with a smile on her face.

"Wow, I didn't think I'd see Jake Jagielski in this town again. It seems like this month all my high school friends are coming out of the woodwork."

"I think your mistaken Serena, I never was your friend in high school. I just tolerated you because you were Luca's girlfriend." He muttered rolling his eyes. "Is there a reason why you're here?"

"Well, someone certainly woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I was simply trying to make conversation." She said haughtily.

"The point is, Serena or whatever the hell your name is, no one near this table wants to talk to _you. _Maybe you should take a hint and go back to your own table so we can eat our food in peace." Peyton snapped.

She looked at Peyton. "And who are you?"

"She's my fiancée Serena, not that it's any of your business." Jake answered.

Serena smiled wickedly. "That isn't Nikki's little girl she's holding is she?"

"No, it's **_our_** little girl she's holding. Nikki stopped being her mother when she walked out on us."

"Well, did you inform Nikki of that? Because I'm sure she's still under the impression that she had a daughter that you stole away from her. I'm sure she'd be grateful if I gave her a little tip about your whereabouts."

"Are you threatening to tell Nikki we're here?" Peyton said incredulously. "You really have nothing else to do with your free time do you?"

"No it's her side job. She likes to ruin people's lives. It gives her great joy." Brooke grumbled.

"Actually Brookie, Nikki is my friend. I thought I'd do my civil duty and tell her where her daughter is." She spat.

Nancy gasped in surprise. "Wow, Serena you actually know about the concept of friendship? You could have fooled me!" Nancy chirped sarcastically. "You should know better than to come by where you're not wanted."

Serena stepped forward as if to hit Nancy only to be stopped by Nathan grabbing her arm. "Don't start anything you can't finish Serena. There are seven of us and one of you. I doubt your lackey's are going to try and save you. I suggest you act like an adult and walk away. I don't want to hit a girl but you're pushing it."

Brooke smiled triumphantly. "See Serena, let me tell you about the real concept of friendship. When you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us and we don't take kindly to threats. Go ahead and run to Nikki about who you just saw. You're just digging your grave deeper and when one of us finally gets tired of your bullshit you're not going to be too happy with the outcome."

Serena's eyes narrowed and she growled. "Brookie, you don't seem to know just how powerful my father is. You're not in New York right now, you're in Palm Beach where you hold no ground so I'd watch what you say to me."

"No Serena, you should watch what you say to my girlfriend. I don't think it'd help your father's campaign to know that his daughter has been running around acting like a prostitute and threatening guests of Palm Beach. I'm sure the tabloids would eat that story up." Lucas said. "Wouldn't they Nance? You're a publicist you write up all kinds of stories all the time don't you? I'm sure it'd be a walk in the park for you to embellish a little and send it into the newspaper."

Nancy smiled. "It wouldn't be a problem at all."

Serena's face paled and she stepped back. "Let's see how cocky you get when you have a custody battle hanging over your head Jake. You know how influential my family can be when it comes to helping out a friend." She warned.

She turned around and stalked back to her table leaving the occupants laughing hard.

"I feel like I'm in high school again." Haley said. "We have people plotting against us now."

"Thank god we only have a week left here." Brooke added. "If I had to deal with Serena any longer I'd murder her. That girl is pure poison."

"Do you really think she's going to tell Nikki about us being here?" Peyton asked Jake worried.

"I have no doubt in my mind." Jake said. "But the courts wouldn't allow Nikki to have her, they couldn't allow her. Jenny knows us, she knows you, and she knows Brooke, Haley, Nate, and Nance they're not going to take her away from her family to go to a vindictive bitch like Nikki."

Peyton's eyes filled with tears and she let Jake pull her into a hug. "I couldn't lose my baby Jake, I love Jenny…she's my daughter not Nikki's."

The others watched them doubts filling their heads concerning what Serena, an obvious nutcase, could do to them.

"We're not going to let Serena do that to you okay?" Lucas reassured Peyton. "She's evil, but you guys aren't who she's after she hates me and Brooke. All she was doing was making empty threats."

"I don't know Luke." Jake said doubtfully. "But I hope you're right."

**TBC**

**A/N:** Whoo, who guessed that if Peyton and Jake came down I'd bring in Nikki? Nobody? Well hah, that means I'm cool! Question: Does anyone know Nikki's last name on the show? This is going to be the last problem that the group deals with before heading back to New York.


	13. Part 12

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 12**

"_The life most pleasing to God is that which is spent in most usefulness to our fellow-creatures. A man cannot love his God, and hate his brother: he cannot expect mercy, who shows none." – S. M. M'Corkle_

Lucas and Brooke sat in Lucas's rented Escalade watching the Mill's estate. Lucas had originally wanted to face Serena alone, tell her to back off of Jake and Peyton but Brooke had insisted on coming along. He had thought at first it was because Brooke didn't trust him around Serena but he figured now she just didn't want him to deal with woman's jibe remarks alone.

He sighed again and then drove up to the gate ignoring the concerned look that Brooke was sending his way. "Lucas Scott and Brooke Davis for Serena Mills" He said when the gateman asked for identification. They were let in and he drove around the circular drive and parked in front.

"Ready to deal with the snake?" Brooke asked cheerfully.

Lucas groaned. "Not particularly but I don't really have a choice. It's my fault that this is all happening."

"It's not your fault, its Serena's fault for being obsessed with getting back at you for something that happened years ago."

Lucas nodded, not believing anything she was saying but smiled so she wouldn't think he thought any different. "Let's just get this over with."

They were greeted at the door by the butler and taken into a sitting room where snacks and drinks were waiting for them. Neither of them took anything, not wanting anything from the woman that was wreaking havoc on their lives.

Serena walked in a few minutes later. She was looking prim and proper as usual. Lucas couldn't believe he had been in love with her for such a long time. The girl was truly evil in an angel's disguise.

"Well if it isn't the too sweet duo Lucas and Brooke." Serena said dryly. "Considering how both of you pretty much threatened me yesterday I'm curious as to why you chose to give me this visit."

Lucas cleared his throat slightly and tried to push down the nasty retort he had rolling around in his head. "Serena I want to apologize for yesterday. You were upsetting people I consider my family and I'm very protective of my family."

She smiled slightly. "You forgot that I grew up with you Lucas, I know that."

He closed his eyes; she was going to be difficult. He could sense it already. "You know a lot about me Serena, and I know a lot about you, or at least I thought I did. Why are you doing this? Why are you screwing with so many people for a stupid mistake I did years ago?"

She smiled again but this time sadly. "Lucas, I can't answer that for you. I'm angry, I've always been angry at you for what you did to me. Do you know how hard it is to live your life knowing that the person you were certain you were spending the rest of your life with cheated on you, and then pretty much ignored you when you tried to reconcile? Then years later he comes back and you're still in love with him but can never have him because he's in love with someone else." Serena wiped away her tears angrily. "I hate you for doing this to me Lucas, I hate you!"

He dropped his face in his hands and rubbed it tiredly. "Serena, what do you want me to do? Break up with Brooke? It's not going to happen. Is that why you tried to break Brooke and me up? Well it didn't work."

"I know, and it just made me angrier that you'd do anything to go back to her but you basically ran away when it came to me."

"I didn't leave Palm Beach because of you Serena, I left because of Dan."

"With no regard to anyone else here." She spat.

"So is this why you're terrorizing Jake? Because he's my friend?" He asked.

"Don't flatter yourself Luke, I may hate you, but not enough to target each and every one of your pathetic friends. I was telling you the truth in the restaurant. Nikki and I are friends and she deserves to know where her daughter has been."

"It's funny how you decide to do the right thing when it helps you." Brooke commented her first words since she had entered the house.

Serena shot a look filled with hatred at her. "How exactly does this help me? That little girl is not my daughter."

"Yeah but her father just so happens to be a close friend of Lucas. You'd get back at him anyway you can Serena, no matter how much you try to deny it. You hate him, everyone knows that now, but going after Jake is not going to help you get over Lucas." Brooke said.

"Shut up you little bitch, you have no idea what I'm going through." Serena snapped.

Lucas could see Brooke was reaching her breaking point but was surprised when she answered her calmly. "I'm not going to say I know exactly why you feel the need to make Lucas's life your personal target but I do know how it feels to be disappointed by a person you love. A year ago I was engaged to a man named Tim Smith and he was absolutely wonderful, or so I thought. I found out that he had been sleeping with my friend Theresa for half a year. What he did to me almost ruined what I have with Lucas because I was angry and bitter. He made me believe that all men were evil, and that no one could be trusted."

Brooke grabbed Lucas's hand, that topic was painful even if she didn't have any feelings for Tim anymore. Serena stared at Brooke for awhile. "I'm not going to pretend I cared much for that story." She said coldly.

"Serena don't act like this." Lucas pleaded. "I'm sorry for what I put you through, I'd take back all the pain I put you through but I can't change the past."

Her gaze softened as she looked at Lucas's apologetic face. "Brooke I'm sorry for almost destroying what you and Lucas have. I'm sorry for being such a bitch toward you; I'm usually not like that."

Brooke nodded. "Are you still going to tell Nikki?"

"I wasn't lying when I said telling Nikki wasn't all about Luke. Nikki is my friend and contrary to what all of you seem to think about her she is a good person and she deserves to know the whereabouts of her child." Serena insisted.

"Alright, we're not going to argue with you." Lucas said defeated. "But Serena, what good is going to come out of this? The courts aren't going to allow Nikki to take Jenny away from Jake. Not after this long."

"You may be right Lucas, in fact I'm pretty sure you are right. But if I had a daughter that I hadn't seen in years, I'd want to see her—if only for a day."

Brooke bowed her head at that. "I didn't think of it like that." She said softly.

Serena smiled slightly. "Of course you didn't, you're only looking at it from your friend's point of view."

Lucas stood up as did Brooke and Serena and he hesitated for a moment before giving Serena a one-armed hug. Both she and Brooke looked surprised at his actions.

Lucas sighed. "Serena, I know when I left things with us were left unfinished and I'm sorry that it took me five years to realize that my actions hurt others, and knowing you so long and seeing what my betrayal turned you into—it hurts. I just want to say that I'm so sorry, from the bottom of my heart for doing this to you and I hope…" He paused and took Brooke's hand in his. "I hope that you can find someone to make you as happy as Brooke makes me."

Serena wiped away a tear. "Thank you for saying that Lucas."

He nodded and turned to leave. "I want things to get better between us Serena, you have my cell number, just call if you ever need something."

She nodded. "I'll do that, and Brooke I'm sorry I made you doubt Lucas, he's a good man."

Brooke squeezed his hand. "I know, I'm reminded every day that he is."

They left the house and stood there in the afternoon sun contemplating what to do next. Lucas had his arms wrapped around Brooke's waist and his head resting on her shoulder. Brooke leaned back and kissed him softly. "What you said to Serena was beautiful, I think that's what she needed to hear."

He smiled. "I'm glad I can finally feel as if I'm at peace with her. I don't want anything like that to ever come between us again."

"Well then let's just hope there aren't any more ex-girlfriends waiting to sink their claws into you."

He laughed. "I'm pretty sure all the ex-girlfriends that have reason to hate me are either dead, in a different country, or can be taken care of."

"You sound like a mobster." She said giggling.

They got into the car and drove around for a bit, both of them not wanting to go back to the hotel yet. "Let's go out for an early dinner." Brooke suggested.

"We should tell Jake that we couldn't convince Serena…" Lucas said.

She shook her head. "What difference would it make? He didn't even know we were going over there to talk to her."

"You're right…let's go to Emerald Coast, it's a really nice Japanese restaurant."

"Sounds good to me."

* * *

They arrived back at the hotel minutes to seven after being gone all day without contacting anyone. It was refreshing to have the day to themselves, even if they had to make a detour to Serena's house, but despite how it had started the visit had ended with closure. Something that she knew Lucas needed, no matter how much he said that he loved her.

"I don't want to go upstairs yet, it's been great being just you and me. As soon as we get up there it'll be us and everyone else." Lucas said nuzzling her neck.

Brooke smiled. "I'd love to go somewhere where it would be just you and me but we did invite all these people."

He sighed. "You're right…once again. Come on…" He took her hand and they playfully kissed and nipped at the other while waiting for the elevator to get to their floor. They walked hand in hand down the hallway and Brooke stopped abruptly when Lucas gasped at a woman walking just a bit ahead of them.

"Nikki?" He asked in disbelief.

The dark haired woman turned around and smiled in recognition. "Lucas Scott." She replied in her smooth voice. "Serena told me to expect you here."

She looked over to Brooke and smiled congenially. "And you must be Brooke. It's a pleasure to meet you I'm Nicole Green"

"I'm not sure whether I should say it's a pleasure to meet you or why are you here." Brooke replied honestly.

Nikki smiled as if she had expected that response. "I'm sure from what Lucas has told you about me you probably think I'm a nutcase."

"She has no reason to think that Nikki, I didn't talk with her about you." Lucas said.

"That's surprising. I would think you, Jake, Nathan, and Haley would try to poison everyone you meet against me. You did it in high school, why not now?"

"Because in high school you were a different person and from what I already went through with Serena I didn't want to expect you to be a certain way." He answered.

She smiled fondly. "You were always the level-headed one." She said. "So I'm guessing you're not going to fight me if I want to see my child?"

"That's not my decision Nikki." He said softly. "But from how you were in high school I know why Jake doesn't want you near her."

"People change all the time Luke." She reminded him. "It's a part of growing up."

"Why don't we get Peyton and Jake?" Brooke suggested.

"Wait here and I'll go get them." Luke offered.

They waited in the hallway both unsure of the other. Brooke was worried, from the description of Nikki's past behavior given to her by Jake she had more than enough reasons to hate her but Nikki was right, people changed all the time. They grew up and they recognized that what they were doing was wrong and therefore made amends.

"Nikki…" Brooke started.

The woman looked at her. "Yes Brooke?"

She hesitated. "I wanted you to know that I don't hold the things that you did in your past against you and I don't want you to not be able to see your daughter. I know that you've made mistakes, and I'm hoping that Jake can see it as well. No one deserves to never know their own daughter."

Nikki nodded. "Thank you, I'm glad that you understand."

Lucas came out then, with Peyton and Jake in tow. Peyton smiled slightly at Nikki and Brooke ushered them downstairs and onto a secluded corner of the pool deck where it would be warm and comfortable and probably no one would disturb them.

They sat there awkwardly for a few minutes before Peyton spoke up. "I guess I should introduce myself since we don't know each other." She started. "I'm Peyton Sawyer, Jake's fiancée."

"Nicole Green, but I'm sure you know me as Nikki. Once nickname's start it's hard to get them to go away." She said smiling disarmingly.

"Why are you here?" Jake asked bluntly not wanting to prolong this meeting any longer.

She flinched and Brooke barely caught the hurt that flashed through the brunette's eyes. "I want to be able to see my daughter." She requested softly.

"I don't think that's going to be possible." Jake grounded out. "You made it more than clear that you wanted nothing to do with her when you left."

She closed her eyes guiltily. "Jake, I'm not going to sugarcoat my actions back then. I was an idiot that had unprotected sex and had a child. I was scared and my parents were refusing to help me. I didn't want to be tied down, not after I had gotten into UM. I'm sorry that I left without a notice but I didn't want you to try to stop me."

"It's not an excuse." Jake said unforgiving.

"Believe me I know that, and I regret every day that I didn't see my little girl grow up. But I'm here _now _and I want her to get to know her real mother."

"Peyton is her real mother, the only real mother she has had and for you to just waltz in here and demand to see her is not going to work. What do I do when you decide to leave again? When you decide that your job is more important than your own daughter?" He yelled, and then quieted down so he wouldn't attract attention from the other guests.

"Jake I've changed! I'm not the brash teenager that you knew me to be. I'm more responsible than I was before, I'm more grounded, and I know now who I want to be and where I want to go." She smiled softly. "I'm not threatening to take her away and I'm not plotting on making your life miserable. I just want the chance to get to know my daughter."

"What do you think Lucas? You think she's changed?" Jake asked Lucas.

Lucas shrugged. "From what I see now compared to how she was then she's changed a lot, and definitely for the better."

Nikki smiled gratefully at Lucas. "I don't know…" Jake said doubtfully. "Nikki, I want to think that you're serious about this but you haven't given me a lot to work on."

"Besides…" Peyton added. "You sent us letters a while back saying the same things. That you had changed and wanted to see your daughter but you never followed through!"

Nikki's eyes narrowed. "Whose fault was that? It certainly wasn't mine. I wrote you and you never replied, by the time I wrote again you're address changed and where was I to get that address from?" She accused. "I'm not a magician Peyton, I can't magically find people if they don't want to be found."

"Why now? If you would have never gotten a heads up from Serena you wouldn't have known we were here and we would have left and your life would have gone unchanged so why is it that you need to see Jenny?"

"Jenny?" She commented wistfully. "Is that what you named her? That's a beautiful name."

Jake nodded. "She's a beautiful girl Nikki."

"Why now? Because I have the chance to." Nikki answered simply.

"I'm sorry but that's just not good enough for me. Please, don't come back and don't pursue this." He said softly.

Nikki's eyes narrowed and her eyes welled with tears. "What right do you have to keep me away from my own daughter?"

"My daughter." Peyton said in the same tone as Jake. "She's been my daughter and she recognizes me as her mother. What's the point of introducing her to someone that means nothing to her?"

"You didn't have her did you?" Nikki asked. "I didn't think so, so therefore she is not your daughter."

"Peyton is her mother in every sense of the word Nikki." Jake said.

She stood up brushing away her tears. "I'm not going to let you take my daughter away from me, I wanted to be civil and you're the one that shot me down so I'm taking you to court."

"Take me to court all you want to, they're not going to take her away from me." Jake said.

"Why can't you get it through your thick head that I don't want to take her away from you? I just want to be able to see her!"

"Why can't you get that I don't want your crazy ass anywhere near her?" He shot back.

Nikki whirled around and stalked out the hotel.

"Jake that was uncalled for." Brooke said immediately.

"You don't know Nikki like I know her Brooke so don't try to hound me for this." Jake said obstinately.

"She's changed Jake, does she really look like the type of person that's going to hurt Jenny? She just wants to see her kid."

"Whose side are you on Brooke?" Peyton demanded. "Why are you defending her?"

"Because you two are being unreasonable!" Brooke shouted. "You're attacking her for mistakes that she's obviously sorry for. Why do you want to continue punishing her for it?"

"She deserves each and everything I said to her." Jake insisted. "I'm not about to take back what I said. She's a crazy bitch, and she always will be one."

"You two are being ridiculous." Brooke muttered.

"Brooke, stop acting like this has anything to do with you!" Peyton said angry. "Jenny is my daughter and I'm not going to let that woman take her away from me!"

"You're forgetting that Jenny isn't your daughter and Nikki clearly just said she doesn't want to take her away from you. Stop letting your insecurities hurt that little girl!"

"Look, we don't want or need your input to stay out of it." Jake said icily. "We're going upstairs."

Brooke watched sadly as her two best friends left then turned to Lucas. "Do you think I was wrong to tell them that?"

He stayed quiet and moved closer to Brooke so he could kiss her forehead. "I think that you're an excellent judge of character and even I admitted that Nikki has changed. I don't know why Jake and Peyton are so scared of letting Jenny see Nikki but they're also right when they say it has nothing to do with you. Even if we know what the right thing to do is logically and the best thing for Jenny it is ultimately their decision."

Brooke nodded giving up and leaning back into Lucas's comfortable embrace. A few minutes later she spoke up again. "I want to leave early."

"What?" He murmured against her neck.

"Florida…I want to leave earlier. This place, it's not fun anymore. Day after day we just find ourselves deeper in the action."

"Do you want to go back to New York or finish off the week somewhere else?" He asked.

"You'd really leave early?" She asked surprised.

"Brooke, if you're unhappy here then we'll leave. I want to see you happy, because when you are so am I."

She smiled. "Thank you."

"Anything for you." He said. "I love you, remember?"

"I know." She kissed him softly claiming him as hers once again. "I know."

TBC


	14. Part 13

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 13**

_"The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are lovedloved for ourselves, or rather, loved in spite of ourselves." – Victor Hugo_

Brooke found it strange that out of controversy she had created a new friend. That seemed to be the pattern here in Palm Beach. Get in an argument, call a truce, and learn something new about yourself or someone else. In this case it would have to be Nikki. After confronting Peyton and Jake both she and Lucas had made an effort to call her and give her their support, their reasoning being that Jake and Peyton weren't acting in the best interest of Jenny. She knew when Peyton or Jake found out that she was still conversing with Nikki she would put even more distance in their relationship. It had been two days since that night at the pool and she hadn't talked to Jake at all and her conversations with Peyton had been less than friendly.

They were leaving today, only her and Lucas but that's what she had wanted. Coming to Palm Beach had practically destroyed her relationship with Lucas, which only by a miracle was saves, and she believed that if she stayed here any longer her relationships with Lucas and Jake would just deteriorate faster. She wouldn't allow that to happen if she could help it.

Lucas was at the Scott's now, saying goodbye to Dan before heading over to see Karen and Keith. She didn't go with him, opting to say her goodbyes over the phone. She threw the last of her clothes into her Gucci suitcase and shut it, feeling extremely proud of herself for fitting all of her new clothes she had bought in the suitcase.

There was a knock on her door and she answered it, already expecting Haley and Nancy to come over. "Hey you two." She greeted absently while making sure she wasn't leaving anything.

Nancy made herself comfortable on the bed. "Peyton's on the warpath when it comes to you." She said. "What'd you do to her?"

Brooke had forgotten that Nathan, Haley, and Nancy knew nothing about what had transpired two days ago. Brooke rolled her eyes. "Lucas and I sided with Nikki when Nikki came to see Jenny."

"Why are you siding with that psychopath?" Haley said surprised. "She made Jake's life a living hell in high school. He was always looking over his shoulder waiting for the next stunt she was going to pull."

"I was an idiot in high school too Haley, you didn't know me then but I was. I was angry teenager trying to get some attention from my parents and I did everything possible to do it but look at me now I'm different. I've changed." Brooke said. "If I can't give Nikki a chance what right do I have to ask any of you to view me as anything other than the slut and the attention seeker that I was in high school."

"Brooke…" Haley started.

"No listen to me, Hales you're one of the most forgiving people I know, I mean look at you and Nathan how can you not see that Jake and Peyton are being ridiculous about this? That woman has the right to see her own daughter!" Noticing that she wasn't getting anywhere with Haley she turned to Nancy.

"Hey don't ask me, I'm not close enough to Peyton or Jake to try to give them advice about anything." Nancy said putting her hands up.

Lucas opened the door to their hotel room then and Brooke smiled happy that he was back and she had someone on her side once again. "Hey baby." She said.

He kissed her cheek. "Hey Brooke, hi you two." He directed towards Haley and Nancy. "What's up with all the mean looks Haley's sending my way?" He asked her.

"I can't believe after all of the stuff that Nikki put Jake through you're going to defend her!" Haley said confused.

"Hales what right do I have to advise someone to keep their daughter away from her mother?" Lucas asked her.

Brooke could see that Haley was struggling between what she knew was right and her loyalty to an old friend. "Hales, it's not choosing between your friends and the enemy. Its understanding what the right thing is to do."

Haley gave Brooke a tight lipped smile. "What you and Luke are saying, it makes sense, but I can't go against Jake, it wouldn't sit right with me."

Brooke sighed tiredly. "Whatever, you know I gave my opinion and it's up to them whether they want to take my advice or not." She grabbed her bags and handed them to Lucas. "We need to go if we're going to catch this airplane."

Lucas held her gaze, concern washed over his features. "Brooke are you okay?" He asked.

"No" She answered honestly, "but I'll get over it." She smiled reassuringly and urged him out the door. "I'll be down in a second; I just need to double check that we got everything."

Lucas left leaving Haley and Nancy alone with Brooke once again. "Are you sure you don't want us to drive with you down to the airport?" Nancy asked. "Not like there is anything to do around here."

"I'm sure Nance, you need to enjoy your vacation. Working with Nathan everyday has to give you gray hairs."

Nancy cracked a smiled. "Most of the time, but he's like my brother so I'll deal with it, plus I have Haley to kick him out the house whenever he annoys me too much."

Haley giggled and hugged Brooke tightly. "We'll see you in a week okay?"

Nancy took her turn and hugged Brooke. "You'll be fine without us for a couple of days right?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "I lived most of my life without you, I'm sure I could go a week more."

Nancy put her hand to her heart in mock hurt. "Oh Brooke, you wound me, you really do."

Brooke laughed at her and then headed for the door waving at the two. "Since my two lovely best friends aren't talking to me could you guys tell them that Lucas and I left?" She smiled slightly. "Hopefully they'll be over it by the time you guys get back to New York."

Nancy snorted. "I'll make sure to pass along the message that they need to get their shit together. They have no reason to be mad at you, all you were doing was trying to help."

Brooke sighed. "Nance, if they would see it that way everything would be better but they don't."

Brooke looked around the room again, almost feeling sad that she was leaving Florida. But then again, no matter whom she met here or what happened here her home would always be in New York.

"Goodbye Florida…" She muttered to herself as she closed the hotel room door. "Can't say I'll miss you all that much." (A/N: Hehe, nothing against Florida! I live there you know!)

* * *

Lucas watched amused as Brooke flung herself on his bed in his penthouse. Their return to the airport, subsequent two hour flight, and arrival at New York had taken a lot out of them. He was amazed that Brooke had any energy left in her; all he wanted to do was take a long hot shower and go to bed.

"You know Luke." Brooke said thoughtfully. "I like Florida and everything but I don't think I'd ever give up living in New York for anything." She flipped through his laminated collection of take out menus. "I mean, you wouldn't _need_ to have a laminated binder filled with menus if you were living in Florida. I bet there aren't many fast food restaurants to choose from."

He looked at her. "Are you picking on my collection?"

She giggled. "No, I love your take out collection! How would we eat? I don't cook and you're kitchen-phobic."

"I'm not scared of the kitchen!" He protested indignantly. "I just have horrible childhood experiences from it."

Her giggles turned into full fledged laughter. "I know, don't remind me. The horrible hot frying pan incident, the milk incident, and all those other dumb accidents you've had."

He smiled, crossing the room and pulling her to him. "I love you." He whispered.

He caught her guilty look and immediately kissed her hard, hoping to erase any doubt she may have. "I don't want an answer remember?"

She nodded but a sad look still graced her pretty face. "I want to say it back to you though." She murmured. "I don't know why I can't."

"It's fine." He insisted. "Really, it is. I don't mind Brooke you know that. I'll wait as long as it takes for you to say it back."

Their eyes locked in a battle of the wills. Lucas not planning on letting Brooke worry herself over it. He didn't want to force her feelings. He knew sometimes he was overbearing with his own feelings but he didn't want to push her if he wasn't what she wanted. Finally, Brooke dropped her eyes, choosing to play with his hands instead.

"Do you want Chinese?" She asked softly after a few minutes.

He kissed her forehead. "Yeah, I'll take Chinese. I'm going to go take a shower."

She nodded absently and he went into the bathroom, peaking outside again to make sure she was busy before turning the shower on full blast and pulling out his cell phone. As soon as the girl picked up he gave a shaky sigh. "I'm pushing her again."

"You don't mean to." Haley said diplomatically. "You're over affectionate Luke I don't think I could picture you not spouting 'I love you' every ten seconds to her."

"I think…I think she feels bad that she's not saying it back to me." He said miserable. "I don't want to push her." He repeated.

He heard noises in the background and sighed again. "I'm interrupting something aren't I?"

"Nothing that can't be continued later Luke." Haley said. "Nathan and I were getting ready to go over to your parents place."

"Why would you go and do a silly thing like that?" He said joking.

"Nancy decided that she wants to leave as soon as possible and tonight is the last night she'll be able to see your parents."

The doorbell rang and Lucas jumped in the shower to get himself wet before shut it off, figuring that Brooke would get suspicious if he stayed any longer. "Food's here, I'll talk to you later."

"Alright, and you know everything is going to be fine." Haley said.

"Yeah I know."

He stepped out the bathroom and plastered a happy expression on his face. "It feels good to be back in New York." He admitted sitting at the table. "At least we know for sure no crazy ex-girlfriends are going to come out of the woodwork with something else to bother us with."

Brooke grinned. "I heard you were quite the player back in college and with all this traveling you do for the agency how do I know you don't have some girlfriends strewn across the globe?"

"Oh just a couple in Boston and California, and I'm sending child support over to some girl in Japan. Those geisha's are lethal." He answered cheekily.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm sure they are." Spooning out some of the rice for herself she munched on her food thoughtfully. "I'm probably way behind with the next issue of Filly." She muttered.

"My voicemail's backed up too." Lucas said sighing. "I guess the vacation is up."

"For now, but we're the head of our respective companies. When we need another vacation we can take it." She paused. "And yes Mr. Workaholic, you can take another vacation in the same year. If I have anything to say about it, we'll be going somewhere for Christmas."

"But that's only a few months away!" He protested.

"Operative phrase being _a few months_. Luke, you put your life on hold for your clients and it's not necessary. I know you love your job and it helps you deal with the fact that you can't play basketball but there are other people in your life that need you around too."

"Brooke." He said exasperated. "You don't know how important my job is to me. It may not give me a whole lot of free time but it makes me happy to be there for others."

"If it makes you happy to be there for others why can't you be there for your family, your friends, for me?" She asked.

He shut his eyes. "Remember when we first started spending time together and you asked me why I didn't have a girlfriend?" He countered.

She nodded. "You said that it was your job."

"Exactly. The number one reason why women broke up with me is because they felt they were second place to my career. After years of going through break up after break up I figured out the warning signs that they might be thinking that. They ask me to cut back on my hours, the suggest trips knowing I can't make them, they get disappointed when I break a lunch date, and they complain when I can't come home early enough." He sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. "Brooke…you're starting to act like that."

"Luke I'm not insecure enough to think that I'm second to your job, the amount of times you tell me you love me everyday is testament to the fact that I'm not second." She started. "But if you expect this relationship to go any further we have to learn to make compromises."

"I can compromise…" He began.

She laughed. "No Luke you can't, not when it comes to your job! You were doing it just now. As soon as I even brought up the subject of you spending too much time at work you started reading into it. Just because I ask you to make some more free time doesn't mean I hate your job or I hate your lifestyle. It simply means I want you to see that there are things out there besides your suits and your office."

"That may be the case Brooke, but it started out like that with everyone else…"

She cut him off and glared hard at him. "I am NOT everyone else. I'm not Tamara, Shauna, or Anna. I'm _Brooke Davis_. I'm not going to be compared to your ex-girlfriends!"

He looked at her defeated. "Brooke…I don't want to argue with you."

"We're not arguing we're having a civilized conversation." She answered. "That whether you like it or not we're going to have."

"Brooke what the hell is this about?" He asked getting angry. "Why are you suddenly bringing this up? We just left from a vacation and you work just as much as me!"

"I don't take my work home with me though! My work isn't accessible to me 24/7!" Brooke shot back. "Last month you ran yourself into the ground and ended up in a hospital for it. Do you really think it's wise to be working yourself so hard again?"

"My hours weren't the only thing contributing to my health problems Brooke! I run a company, I travel a lot, and I'm dealing with personal problems everyday."

"I'm sorry okay?" Brooke finally said. "I worry about you, I care about you, and I know it's selfish of me to expect you to cut back on doing something you love, but I'm probably not going to stop so you should get used to it."

He looked into her sincere eyes and contemplated what Brooke was saying. She was right when she said that he wasn't careful with his health. His heart condition was directly linked to the stress in his life, and going the way he was now if it hadn't been genetic he would have been well on his way to acquiring the disease. "I should apologize too." He murmured taking her hand. "You're right, I'm not really cautious when it comes to my health and I need to be. Maybe I do need to cut down on the hours I work."

"You're serious you're going to think about it?" She asked hopefully.

He nodded. "I'll work with my team and I'll figure something out."

She smiled and then kissed him hard on the mouth. Pulling back she looked at him with a suddenly dazed expression. "You really do love me." She said in awe.

He looked at her strangely. "Of course I do…Brooke you know that you just said it yourself that I say it to you enough."

"You know the saying 'actions speak louder than words?'" She asked.

"I think everyone does, what are you getting at?"

"The same night that you told me why you didn't have a girlfriend I also told you that it was because you never found a girl that you truly cared enough about to change your life for."

"And I agreed." He interjected.

She smiled widely. "Yes, and you agreed. Well look who just changed their schedule around for me."

"I did." He answered.

She grinned. "You did."

"It's because I love you." He reminded her.

She nodded. "It's because you love me."

"So when are you going to start believing it?" He asked.

"I believe you, and I believe in us…always." She said.

"I'm glad then."

She didn't have to say it yet, Lucas decided. But he knew that she loved him. It was in the way that she talked, the way that she looked at him, and the way that she worried about him. He may doubt it sometimes but she reaffirms it every minute he's with her, and if he had to pinpoint one exact reason why this woman had him convinced that she was the one it would be how much she said without actually saying it. He loved her, every part of her, and that wouldn't change no matter how long he had to wait.

And he would wait, no matter how long it took because he was happy. And a wise man once said: _"When unhappy, one doubts everything; when happy, one doubts nothing."_

_TBC_

**A/N:** The quote used to end this chapter was by Joseph Roux from his book _Meditations of a Parish Priest_. I really loved this ending, and I'm rarely satisfied with anything I write so that is saying something. I'm going on a class field trip March 17th to the 20th so I'm going to be posting twice on the 16th. Look out for that! As always, reviews are my drug!


	15. Part 14

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 14**

_"For her own breakfast she'll project a scheme, nor take her tea without a stratagem." – Edward Young_

Getting back in the swing of things had been tough for Brooke. Especially since most of her friends were still in Florida. Instead of the usual lunch breaks with Nancy, and dinner dates with Haley, Nathan, and Lucas she had been dining by herself. It really hadn't been that long, only about three days but she had gotten accustomed to the stability. Lucas had been away on business, leaving a day after they had come back from Florida. His brief phone calls were the only things that were keeping her sane at the moment.

She tried hard to concentrate on the task at hand. Her senior editors were at a convention so she had been stuck with most of the editing. She had already given the associate editors some of the work but Filly was a large magazine, which meant a lot of articles that needed to be edited. She sighed to herself; today was going to be a long working day.

The phone rang, jarring her out of her thoughts abruptly and she grumbled to herself as she picked it up. "Filly magazine, Brooke Davis speaking." She answered briskly.

"Brookie? Is that you honey?" The voice asked.

"Mom?" She asked in disbelief. "Mom…where are you guys? I haven't heard from you or dad in months."

"We're at the airport now, we just came from a lovely vacation in Fiji. Brooke if you would stop would this nonsense job you have you could come and explore the world with us."

She rolled her eyes. "Mom, I hardly think you two have any world left to explore. Seeing as how you've been gone most of my life, and I know it might seem a bit strange to you but I like to work."

She pretty much figured her mom was fuming at this point. In the little calls she did receive every couple of months her mom made it a personal mission to turn her into a socialite. Her mom being born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and her dad being a self-made millionaire gave her mom the impression that they owned the world and because of that did not need to work. "Where's dad?" Brooke asked.

"He's at some coffee shop reading the newspaper. Our flight has been delayed for an hour. It's dreadful thing flying on commercial airplanes. We'd fly on your dad's business jets but we're too far from any of his overseas offices."

"So where is your next stop?" Brooke asked, not really interested but knowing that's what her mom wanted her to ask."

"Oh darling you wouldn't believe it but we're heading back to New York for a couple of days!" She exclaimed happily. "I haven't set foot on American soil in such a long time it'll be so refreshing to see you again."

Brooke's blood ran cold. "Mom you're not serious? You guys haven't been in America in almost three years!"

"Well your father has been having some problems over at the New York office and he personally wants to attend to them. It's something about his employees giving out confidential information about computer parts. I don't really pay much attention to the business aspect." She said in a bored tone. "So honey you can expect us in about two days or so. We're going to be staying at our penthouse."

"Alright…" Brooke murmured weakly. "Is there anything I can do to prepare for your arrival?"

"Oh you're such a doll! Can you call up Maria—you know the house sitter—and tell her we'll be home in the next two days so she doesn't have to stay. Oh, and make sure the house is fully stocked with all the necessities and supervise the maid when she cleans up."

"Anything else?"

"Since we're letting Maria go could you stay at the penthouse until we arrive? It's a beautiful neighborhood but I always like my homes to feel lived in. It'll be just awful if I have to come home to an empty house."

"Sure mom, just call me on my cell phone when you arrive. I might not be at the penthouse because of work or something and I want to be there to meet you."

"That'll be just lovely; I'll be sure and do that. Thank you so much honey." She said happily. "So now that we've gotten that out of the way what's been going on with my favorite daughter? I haven't talked to you in so long! You aren't still with that Tim boy are you?"

She laughed. "No mom, I'm not with Tim. We broke up a while ago remember? I told you about that."

"Oh right! He's the one that cheated on you isn't he? What a scoundrel, such a shame he had all that money too…"

"Mom, I'm not searching for a sugar daddy. I don't _need _money." Brooke protested.

"Brooke stop talking nonsense, you couldn't possibly live without money." Her mom said blowing her off. "Any new boyfriends I should know about? I want a heads up before I meet them."

"I'm dating someone right now…" Brooke said.

"Details honey, you could be dating anyone!" She said excited.

"His name is Lucas Scott. I met him at a business meeting and he's the CEO of the Promotex Sports Agency." Brooke reported.

She could almost hear her mother conversing with someone else and she guessed her father had come back and she was asking him about the agency. "Oh honey, you always pick good ones. Bill says that Promotex is one of the largest sports agencies in the U.S."

"Mom…" She said looking over at her clock. "I have to go now, I'm picking a friend up from the airport. Let me speak to dad for a second."

She heard her mother sigh reluctantly. "Alright, I love you honey." She said.

Brooke sighed as well. "I love you too mom."

The phone was transferred between parents and Brooke felt a relaxed smile sneak on her face upon hearing her father's deep baritone voice. "Hey daddy, I heard you're coming to New York."

"Business problems that need to be taken care of and I can't pass up the opportunity to see my favorite daughter." He said.

"You're only daughter, since you don't want to claim mommy's." She reminded him.

He snorted. "I haven't heard from Eliza in ages, have you?" He asked.

"I haven't heard from Elizabeth in at least a year and she wouldn't call me Dad, she only contacts me when it's convenient or one of her insane boyfriends lands her in the hospital so I'm sure she's fine." Brooke replied.

"You should go check on her, she is your sister." He chastised her.

"_Half_-sister daddy, don't ever forget that." She retorted.

"Of course honey, but the plane seems to have finally arrived. I'll talk to you in a day or so." He said.

"Bye Daddy, I love you." She said.

"Love you too honey" And the phone disconnected leaving Brooke to hear the dial tone.

She really didn't want to have to see her parents but they would hunt her down, especially her mother, if she didn't meet them and have dinner with them at least once before they left again for whatever their next destination will be.

* * *

If there was one time in her life that Brooke needed Peyton it was today. She was the only person who knew how her parents worked, and the reasons why their relationship was so rocky. It hadn't been easy for Brooke to be abandoned by her parents. All of her teenage life she continuously thought that she wasn't good enough for her parents attention, it was only a miracle that she somehow realized that it wasn't the case. Her parents were just bored. They were so uninterested with the rich, social life that they went abroad to any place they could think of.

No matter how badly she spoke of her parents she loved them, but it was going to be hard for her to try to connect with them, to even _see_ them after so long. It had been three years since they had last been in America and even longer since she'd actually seen them in person.

"Wow, earth to Brooke! If I knew you were going to be this spacey I would have had someone else pick me up!" Nancy exclaimed. "What's up with you? You look like hell has frozen over."

Brooke groaned. "That's because it has! My elusive parents have finally decided to come for a little visit."

Nancy's eyes lit up. "You're parents are coming to visit? That's awesome…" Nancy looked at her a little harder. "Or maybe not…what's up? Why don't you want them to visit? Your parents can't be as bad as Lucas's."

Brooke laughed. "No, they're not that bad. It's not that I don't want them to visit, it's just that I'm not used to seeing them. I'm going to be so uncomfortable with them." She said.

"Let me guess, you had the kind of parents that would throw you some money and then disappear?"

Brooke nodded. "I was always so desperate for my parent's attention until I realized that it wasn't going to happen and I was just wasting my time. It's funny how when they reach out to me I immediately draw back."

"It's bound to happen. It's like being with a friend that you haven't seen in years. You know you have an obligation to be with them because—well they're your friend—but you know deep down inside you really don't know them and you want the day to be over with as soon as possible."

"Exactly." Brooke said smiling. "You talk like you've experienced it." Brooke said questioningly.

She shook her head. "Not with parents, my parents weren't rich enough to have the luxury of just leaving whenever they wanted to although I'm pretty sure they probably wanted to. But I did have a boyfriend in college who had parents like that. I think they were a little bit more extreme than yours though. They'd use him when they wanted to and discard him when he had fulfilled his purpose."

"Yeah, my parents aren't like that." Brooke said. "And that isn't the only thing that's bugging me."

"What else then?"

"My half-sister." Brooke said sighing heavily.

"Wow Brooke, learning all sorts of new stuff about you today." Nancy said grinning. "Tell me about the evil half-sister!"

"Elizabeth isn't evil…I'd probably call her misguided." Brooke started. "Eliza is the product of an affair my mother had four years after having me. Because of that I don't ever think Eliza felt like she belonged. She was the daughter that my mother never really wanted so she acted like it. She was worse than me if that's even possible." Brooke said laughing. "My dad sent her off to boarding school until she was 18, and as soon as she was free she disappeared. Sending one of us a postcard now and then just to remind us that yes, she was alive and no, she wasn't going to die anytime soon."

"So now that mommy and daddy dearest are on their way home she's going to pop out of the woodwork and come and visit?" Nancy guessed.

"No, I have to go track her down so my mother doesn't feel like she's a failure at parenting—even if she is." Brooke muttered.

"Ouch." Nancy winced. "The bitterness in that just slapped me in the face."

Brooke smiled. "My mother and I have a love-hate relationship."

Nancy grinned. "Same here, don't worry all daughters have relationships like that. Unless you're Haley, but Haley's abnormal so it doesn't count."

Brooke laughed. "I'm so going to tell Haley you said that."

She shrugged. "I don't care, I tell it to Hales enough. So need help with the tracking down of the sister? I'm pretty good at that."

"_Half_-sister" Brooke corrected. "And yes, I'd love the help. Luke isn't going to be back until my parents get here and I need support. Eliza is a lot to handle, especially is she doesn't want to be found."

Nancy smiled wickedly. "Hey, I dealt with evil siblings all my life. I'm sure Elizabeth is going to be a piece of cake. Now stop at Promotex, I'll need to use the computers there."

Brooke made a quick u-turn and headed back towards the Promotex office complex. She pulled into the spot reserved for her and followed Nancy up the stairs and into her office where she closed the door and gestured for her to sit down.

Nancy plopped herself down in her seat and typed for a couple of minutes, occasionally glancing to Brooke to make sure the girl was still alive. After about thirty minutes Nancy made a triumphant sound. "Brooke you officially owe me lunch." Nancy declared showing her an address and phone number.

A pleading look appeared on Brooke's face. "It's only 4 now, do you think we could swing over there?"

"I'm all for it, I'm out of a job until Nathan decides to get off vacation." Nancy said smiling. "So what should I be expecting? The uber depressed type who's angry at the world or the upper class rich bitch type that I'm used too?"

Brooke laughed hitting Nancy playfully. "Eliza is a little of both. Actually she reminds me of you, but you never know I haven't talked to her in almost a year she could have mellowed out."

Nancy glared at her. "So are you calling me an uber depressed bitchy rich girl?"

Brooke giggled. "But you know I love you!"

"Whatever" Nancy said rolling her eyes. She grabbed her purse and stood up. "Let's go this ball rolling. I'm not going to show up at this girls house at all times of the night."

"It's _4 o'clock_!" Brooke said but standing up anyways. "But we should go anyway I just want to get this whole thing settled before Lucas gets back."

"Your family can't bite as hard as his does." Nancy said.

"Not what I'm worried about." She said leading them back to her car. "I'm worried about Eliza overstepping her boundaries."

Nancy raised an eyebrow. "She wouldn't go after Lucas would she?"

"I don't know which is why I'm going to eliminate the possibility before she can even get the idea into her head."

Nancy directed Brooke on which way to go and she wove her way through traffic ending up in the Upper West Side where the apartments weren't the worse but they were definitely a change from the extravagant penthouses and apartments Nancy and Brooke were used to. Brooke whistled low and surveyed the area. "What the hell is she doing in a place like this?" She asked in awe. "It's not like she has to live here, she has a trust fund!"

"Which she isn't using obviously." Nancy said stating the obvious. Brooke parked the car in an empty spot near the sidewalk and dragged Nancy out with her.

"I'm not going up there alone, this place looks _dangerous_!" Brooke squeaked.

Nancy snorted. "Brooke, you're hilarious."

They made it up the stairs and were searching for her apartment when Brooke heard a familiar voice talking on a cell phone below them. She looked down and sure enough Elizabeth was walking up the stairs toward her apartment. She tugged Nancy's sleeve signaling her to stop before preparing for her first conversation with Elizabeth in over a year.

She didn't know what she expected when Elizabeth saw her but she didn't expect her half-sister's look of utter disdain at seeing her face. "Brooke my lovely sister what the hell are you doing within 100 feet of me." She deadpanned shutting the phone.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Nice to see you too Eliza, it's good to know that you haven't been hit by a car yet. I haven't received the obligatory postcard this month."

"Still as bitchy as ever Brookie." Eliza commented.

"And you're still a pessimistic bitch, glad to see some things never change." Brooke said sighing. "And as much as I would love to stand out here bickering with you I actually have a purpose to being here so can you let me in so I can be on my way as quick as possible?"

"Yeah sure." She mumbled opening the door and flicking on the lights in her small apartment. "Who's the blonde?" She asked.

"Nancy McAllister." Nancy answered. "And I just love being referred to as if I'm not here."

She sized her up quickly and backed down. "Sorry."

Nancy sat herself down gingerly on one of the couched and Brooke did the same waiting for Elizabeth to come over. "Mom and Dad are coming back from Fiji in a couple days and I want you to stay at the penthouse with me until they come."

Elizabeth let out a loud bark of laughter. "You don't think because my mother and step-father are coming I'm supposed to drop my life and cater to them do you? Because if you do you're sadly mistaken."

"No I don't think you should drop your life but your parents who are rarely in America are coming to visit. I'd think you'd be a tad bit courteous and welcome them home." Brooke growled.

"Because perfect Brookie needs to give daddy and mommy another reason to talk about her." Eliza mocked.

"Hey kid." Nancy snapped. "You're parents who loved you and raised you are coming back for a couple days. Stop being such a bitch and be nice to them by coming to visit. Brooke's just trying to make them happy, do you have to be such a cynical witch?"

Brooke stared at Nancy but Nancy ignored her, eyes still trained on Elizabeth's now downcast ones. "Well?" Nancy asked impatiently.

"Fine." The younger girl muttered. "I'll be there, when do you want me to show up?"

"Tomorrow around 2 okay? You can meet Lucas." Brooke said.

"Who the hell is that?" Elizabeth wondered.

"My boyfriend Eliza, emphasis on _mine_." Brooke said.

"Whoa…" Eliza said smirking. "I'm not going to steal him Brookie."

"Hopefully." Brooke muttered.

Elizabeth's smiled grew wide. "How much money does he make?"

Nancy rolled her eyes. "Alright kiddo, see you tomorrow. We're leaving."

Nancy pulled Brooke up from the couch and out the door not even sparing the younger girl another glance.

"Well…tomorrow is going to be loads of fun." Brooke growled sarcastically.

Nancy grinned. "You're right, and I can't wait."

**TBC**

**A/N:** This chapter is late AND it's a filler chapter. Sucks for you guys! I figured since I took so much time explaining Lucas's background I should do the same for Brooke. So enter stage left the troublemaker, slutty, and younger sister known as Elizabeth Davis! I promise half of you guys will absolutely love her and the other half will hate her. And yes, she'll be wrecking lives left and right for the next couple of chapters. The quote used for this part makes no sense either but I liked it so…there!


	16. Part 15

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 15**

"The most satisfying thing in life is to have been able to give a large part of one's self to others." - _Pierre Teilhard de Chardin_

Lucas sighed contently as he sank into his office chair at the Promotex building. He had been visiting another agency hoping to buy them out and he was exhausted. Trying to convince a major company that they should sell wasn't an easy task but he loved his job and he was good at it. He was sure within the week the same company would be knocking on his door begging to be bought out. It wasn't cockiness that led him to believe this, he was truly just talented when it came to talking to people. He figured he had to be good at something if he didn't make it in basketball and he had found his calling.

He looked at the clock and cursed to himself. He had just gotten back from Boston but had promised Brooke that he would stop by her parent's place to help her clean it up and shop. He knew that Brooke had been nervous when she had met his parents but he was convinced it was nothing compared to how he was feeling now. The butterflies in his stomach were competing with the lightheaded feeling in his head and he couldn't seem to focus. Meeting parents, he decided was going to be added to his list of things he'd rather not do.

Buzzing his secretary he let her know to forward all his business calls to his cell phone and put away his supplies getting ready to go. The secretary buzzed in one more time. "Mr. Scott, Miss McAllister is here to see you." She informed him.

Without looking up he greeted her. "Hey Nance, what can I do for you?"

"Nothing business related, I'm out of a job until Nate brings his lazy ass back from Florida." She grumbled. "I know you're going to Brooke's and I want to come with. She's already invited me."

Lucas nodded. "Sure sure, let me just finish putting away all of this and then we can go." He said.

"So how was the business trip? What agency were you trying to buy out again?" She asked.

"XLevation, it's this agency that advises athletes on how to break into the music industry. I figured that we should add a creative side to Promotex." He said flashing a grin.

She stood up and walked out into the lobby and waited for him to lock his office door. "Luke, you really are the renaissance man of sports."

He grinned wider. "That's why I'm a millionaire Nance." He reminded her.

"Yes, I happen to know that you rub it in my face every chance you can get." She muttered good naturedly. "Now shut up about your damn paycheck and stop at McDonalds I'm hungry."

Lucas looked at her seriously. "Nance, I thought you were giving up the MickeyD's? I'm sure this isn't good for your arteries."

She slapped him and he burst into laughter. "I'm sorry! No more fat jokes!"

"Asshole." She muttered. "You better be glad I like you."

An hour later after a stop at both Subways and McDonalds they arrived in the extremely rich area of the Upper East side of New York. The place was littered with black stretch limos, guards by apartment buildings, and dogs dressed to kill in Gucci clothes that matched their owners. This neighborhood screamed the upper crust in every way possible. They pulled up to the apartment building that housed the Davis's penthouse and left the car with the valet who would park it in the underground garage before being escorted into the building and to the elevators.

"And I thought you guys had it good in Palm Beach." Nancy said incredulously. "You don't even get to walk by yourself over here! No wonder these people act like they have rods jammed up their asses."

"Nance!" Lucas reprimanded. "Act civil for once would you?"

She rolled her eyes but kept silent as the elevator doors opened to the Davis's residence. They didn't get a chance to knock on the door before it was thrown open by an obviously disgruntled younger girl dressed to kill in Versace jeans and top, her jet black hair pulled up into a top knot, and her wide blue eyes outlined in dark blue eyeliner. "Hey!" The girl answered out of breath. "Hi Nancy!"

"Talk about total attitude adjustment." Brooke muttered from behind her. "Put some nice clothes on you and your attitude does a total 180."

"Jesus Brooke, I try to be nice to your boyfriend and friend and you jump down my throat, why do I even try around you!" She yelled pushing Brooke out the way.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "Hey honey." He said kissing her on the lips. "I'm guessing that's Elizabeth."

"The one and only!" Elizabeth shouted from the living room. "Call me Eliza, everyone else does."

"Well Hello Eliza, I'm Lucas." He responded.

"Yeah I know. Brooke talked about you a lot." She said eyes focused on the TV.

He smiled and walked around Brooke to get inside. "So what's left to do?" He asked.

Brooke sighed taking out her list of chores. "The house is spotless due to the house sitter but we need a serious amount of food in here. My dad eats like a horse and my mom is a picky eater so we need separate items for both of them. Then I need to call in a cook, permanent maid instead of a house sitter, and a driver."

He took the food list from her hand. "Nance and I can handle the grocery shopping" he offered.

Eliza jumped up at that. "Actually Lucas, I was thinking that we could go together. I want to get to know the guy who's dating my sister." She said innocently.

He shrugged. "Sure, I don't mind. Is that okay with you Brooke?" He asked.

Brooke looked warily at her sister, both of them seemed to be engaged in a serious silent conversation. She looked up and smiled at him. "That's fine with me, you two have fun."

Eliza grabbed her new Louis Vuitton purse. "See you later Brookie." She linked arms with Lucas and they made their way outside where they waited for the valet to bring his car around.

She whistled. "Driving around in an Escalade in New York City? You must be well off." She said appreciatively.

He smiled slightly. "I do pretty well. I'm the CEO of the biggest sports agency in New York."

"You're the Lucas Scott from Promotex?" She said in disbelief.

He grinned. "That'd be me, but I'm kind of surprised you know about it. The only people who usually care anything about sports agencies are magazines and athletes."

"I dated one of your clients once." She said. "Jarrod Atkins, the tennis player?"

He chuckled. "You dated Jarrod? I bet you're the reason he had that shitty season last year."

She giggled playing along. "How'd you know?"

"I'm not CEO for no reason Eliza, I know these things." He said boastfully. "So how old are you exactly?"

"21 as of last January!" She said proudly. "How old are you?"

"I'm 24 going on 25." He answered.

She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're younger than Brookie!"

He chuckled. "Only by a couple of months. I can hardly tell the difference and even if I could I wouldn't care."

They got out the car at one of the corner markets and divided the list in half each picking up the rare and sometimes eccentric items. "From what I hear from Brooke you're not really close to your parents." He said. "How come?"

"I'm not going to play nice with people who treat me like dirt." She retorted. "My mom always viewed me as her mistake that she was forced to live with and my step-dad sees me as the kid he has to take care of to appease my mother. They hated seeing me so much they sent me to boarding school, would you want to be civil with people who treated you like that?"

He looked at her thoughtfully. "No, probably not. My dad was an overbearing, controlling, and insane man who thought that he could live his lives through my brother and me. My response to that was 'he has got to be kidding me' and I hightailed it out of there as soon as I could."

She cracked a smile. "When I was 18 I was so happy to be an adult. I got out of that boarding school and traveled for a while. I'm in college getting myself a degree and I have a pretty decent job. I didn't want to rely on them or depend on them so I didn't let them know where I was." She stopped at the register to pay for both of their purchases. "Poor little Brookie is working under the assumption that she's being nice to her little sister who never did anything with her life and that isn't the case."

"Where are you going to college?" He asked genuinely interested.

"I'm going to Columbia and majoring in Graphic Design." She said shyly.

"You're good at computers?"

She nodded. "I've been designing websites since I was 16." They were walking back to the car now, still engrossed in their conversation.

"Do you have a portfolio or anything?"

She looked at him. "What's with all the questioning?"

"Promotex needs a new website. So why should I pay some designer I don't even know when I can pay someone that I know will do a good job?"

She blushed. "You don't know me very well Lucas."

"Brooke thinks I do that a lot." He murmured.

"What?"

"Make opinions about people without fully getting to know someone." He said. "But you're related to Brooke so that's a plus and just like I had an instinct about her, I have one about you and I know you're going to do great things with your life." He took the bags from her and piled them in the back of the Escalade before opening her door and walking around to his. "You're parents and Brooke may not see it yet, but I do and I've been told I'm pretty good with judging someone's character. The best way to get back at your parents is by showing them that you can exceed their expectations and I can see that you're doing that."

If it was possible, Eliza's face turned even redder and she smiled brightly at him. "I believe that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. Thank you Lucas."

He shrugged. "I only say what I know. Write down the URL for your portfolio and I'll give you a call about the designing."

"Thank you…I think I know what Brookie sees in you."

He cocked his head. "So did I pass the test?"

She giggled. "And you're very perceptive too."

"I hate my brother sometimes but he is my brother and no matter how much I may say I hate him and he annoys me I'll make sure that he's making the right choices in life. I know that you're doing the same for Brooke and I appreciate that."

"You took the words out of my mouth. Brookie may be a stuck up bitch 95 of the time, but she's a good person and I love her, and obviously you do too."

He nodded smiling. "Yeah, I do. I love her a lot."

"Has she said it back?"

He shook his head. "But I'll wait, I'm in no rush."

Elizabeth shook her head incredulously leaning back into the incredibly soft leather of Lucas's truck. "Brookie doesn't know a good thing when she sees it." She muttered. "Don't worry about her not saying anything; I'll make sure she talks."

He laughed. "That's not…"

She cut him off. "Don't worry about it and don't try to talk me out of it. You're getting me a job, it's the least I can do."

* * *

While Brooke tackled the phone numbers Nancy was busy lounging around not doing anything. Brooke rolled her eyes, not even knowing why she had invited Nancy over. 

"Nance! Would you get off my couch and do something!" She shouted while she was on hold.

"I thought you had it covered…" Nancy whined getting up. "You're on the telephone and Luke and Eliza are out at the market so there really isn't anything for me to do!"

Brooke sighed knowing that Nancy was right and instead went back to listening to the corny music playing in her ear as she waited for someone to talk to her about the permanent maid she was hiring. "Alright yeah I know. I'm spazzing out because I'm nervous." She admitted.

Nancy laughed. "You didn't have to tell me that B, It's written all over your face." Nancy stood up and walked over to where Brooke was sitting at the bar. She disconnected the phone call and stared at her. "I'll get you a maid; I have connections almost everywhere in New York. Luke and Eliza should be walking in the door any second now and the house is clean."

Brooke nodded smiling weakly. "Thank you." She murmured softly. "No worries right? Everything is under control."

The door opened revealing Elizabeth and Lucas carrying about 5 bags each filled with all the food and supplies that Brooke had listed. "Everything is ready and accounted for." Lucas reported kissing Brooke lightly on the nose. "Did you two finish up the rest of the stuff?"

"Thanks to Nancy" Brooke said. "I was over here freaking out and she calmed me down. Did you two have fun?" She asked suspiciously.

Elizabeth smiled secretively. "Yeah, Luke and I really bonded." Eliza answered. "Quite the boyfriend you have here Brookie. I see why you like him."

Brooke glared at her, not trusting that the statement she said didn't have a double meaning. "Well Mom and Dad called, they're going to be here tomorrow at 9AM. I was wondering if you were going to stay at here or go with me to the airport."

"Definitely go with you to the airport. Maybe if they see me early they'll let me loose early as well." Eliza said hopefully.

"I think not kid but nice try." Nancy said chuckling. "You're stuck with your parents until they leave so get used to their presence."

"How long are they staying?"

"Daddy said at the most three days but it could always be extended depending on how serious this business problem is." Brooke replied.

"So when exactly is the dreaded family dinner?" She asked.

"Not so dreaded." Lucas put in. "I'm supposed to be going aren't I?" He asked Brooke.

She nodded giving him a grateful smile because he hadn't backed out. "We're going to have dinner the night that mom and dad fly in. Dad's going to be pretty tied up the next two days with business so I think Mom might want to have more bonding time with the three of us. She likes to get to know my boyfriends on a personal level." She said.

Lucas raised an eyebrow. "I can't wait."

"Oh how fun! Bonding time with mommy dearest." Eliza muttered sarcastically. "As long as I'm out of this place by Friday morning I'm fine. I have to work in the evening."

Lucas glanced at his watch and then looked up. "I would love to stay here but I have an appointment with a potential client in two hours. I need to go prep for that." He said regretfully. "Brooke, I'll call you when I get out the meeting okay?"

Brooke smiled, crossing the room to hug him tightly. "Thank you for helping."

He grinned. "Anything for you remember?" He murmured, placing gentle butterfly kisses over her face.

"I'd hate to break up the intimate moment that's going on right now but Luke can I get a ride back to my apartment?" Nancy asked.

They broke apart not in the least bit embarrassed and Lucas nodded an affirmative. "Sure, let's go."

Nancy and Lucas waved their goodbyes while heading out towards the car. Brooke watched them disappear into the elevator before shutting the penthouse door. "So? What'd you think of them?" She asked Elizabeth.

"Is his brother married?" She questioned. "Because if his brother is in anyway as sweet or as hot as he is I'll totally go for him."

"Well Nathan is pretty hot but he's married and way too much for you to handle." Brooke said.

Elizabeth pouted flopping backwards onto their parents leather couch. "Too bad." She said with a brief tone of disappointment. "Well anyway" She started brightening. "What's this I hear about you not saying 'I Love You' to Lucas?" She asked.

"He told you about that?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "I implied that he loved you, he said that I was right, I asked if you said it back, and he said no but he didn't mind." She reported.

"Then what's the problem?" Brooke asked suddenly uncomfortable.

"The problem Brookie is that he is a man, and men aren't going to wait on you forever. What is taking you so long to say it back? He's a sweet and he loves you! That's more than I can say from that other bastard you were dating. What was his name again? Tom? Tim?"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Tim, Tim Smith. You've met him way too many times to try to pretend you forgot his name."

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah whatever, well Tommy was a bastard and a half. Lucas is far from it. So please, tell me a legitimate reason why you're leaving him hanging!" Eliza demanded then paused. "You're not leading him on are you? You _do _love him right?"

"Of course I do!" Brooke said. "I'm just not ready to tell him yet. We've barely been dating 3 months Liz. I'm afraid that we're moving to fast."

Elizabeth smiled nostalgically, making patterns on the leather sofa. "Brookie, we may not be the closest pair in our family but I care about you and I don't want you to lose something that's going so good for you. I don't even have to be around you to know that you love him. I can hear it in your voice, I can see it your face, and I can tell by just how happy and content you are in your life. Even if it takes you a year or more to tell him, just make sure you show him how much you care."

Brooke looked at her sister concerned. "Eliza what is this about? This can't be just about me."

"Paul overdosed." She whispered clutching the leather sofa. "That's why I was out of reach for so long. I just didn't want to deal with all the questions."

"Oh god…" Brooke gasped. "I know how close you and Paul were, mom and I always thought you two were too close to be just best friends. I'm so sorry Liz…"

Brooke gathered her younger sister in her arms and they sat there in the tight embrace. "You know sis, there aren't any words I can say to you to make this better…"

She cut her off. "I know but you being here and still supporting me after I've been so horrible to you is enough. Believe me Brookie, it's more than enough."

_TBC_

**A/N:** I bet you guys thought you would never see part 15. I'm sorry about the long wait for an update. Last Thursday was the beginning of my school field trip and I had no internet connection. I finally came back yesterday (Sunday) at 2:30PM so I was pretty wiped out. Well now I'm back and I had a great time on my field trip so EBOR will be updated regularly once again.


	17. Part 16

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 16**

_"I have seen manners that make a similar impression with personal beauty; that give the like exhilaration, and refine us like that; and, in memorable experiences, they are suddenly better than beauty, and make that superfluous and ugly. But they must be marked by fine perception, the acquaintance with real beauty. They must always show self-control: you shall not be facile, apologetic, or leaky, but king over your word; and every gesture and action shall indicate power at rest. Then they must be inspired by the good heart. There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us. 'Tis good to give a stranger a meal, or a night's lodging. 'Tis better to be hospitable to his good meaning and thought, and give courage to a companion. We must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light." - Ralph Waldo Emerson_

Brooke grabbed Lucas's hand in hers as she caught sight of her parents stepping out of the terminal at JFK Airport. She was nervous, and understandably so, she hadn't heard from her parents in months and they hadn't been in America in years. She didn't know what to expect from them anymore, not that she ever did in the first place.

Lucas squeezed her hand and flashed a reassuring smile. When all of this was over with she needed to show him how much his support meant to her. She knew that over the past few days she had been acting slightly mental but he had took it all in stride and was patient with her. For that, she was grateful. A fight with him would have made her parents visit a total disaster.

"We should probably call out to them so they don't walk off without us." He reminded her softly. "I don't want to hunt after your parents in this crowd."

"You recognize them?" She asked surprised.

He grinned. "Besides the fact that you're staring right at them you look exactly like your mother."

She blushed. "Would you be surprised if I said I was nervous?"

"Finally!" He exclaimed a hint of teasing in his voice. "You know Brooke, the first step to defeating a problem is admitting it."

She playfully punched him in the shoulder tossing a glare his way that would have killed a lesser man. "Not funny at all Scott. Just be glad I have a vested interest in your survival." Brooke sighed as she looked at her parents who were desperately searching for her and figured she should go approach them. "Go get Eliza and meet me by the luggage pick up." She commanded.

"Of course Herr Brooke." He said a smirk on his face.

She hit him again as he walked off before making her way through the large crowd of people making their way around the airport. She hurriedly approached her parents waving and shouting their names to stop then pasting on a happy smile when they finally heard her and made their way over.

"Brooke! Darling you look wonderful!" Her mom said happily embracing her tightly. "You must remind me to never stay such a long time away from you."

"Hi Mom…" Brooke said softly.

Her dad appraised her for a second and then pulled her into a hug of his own once her mother had released her. "It's good to see you again Brooke."

"Likewise dad." She said giving her father a tiny smile. "So how about we get your bags?" She suggested cheerfully.

They nodded their approval and Brooke led them on a weaving path through the masses towards baggage claim where she saw Lucas and Elizabeth waiting for them to arrive. Her mother squealed loudly upon seeing Elizabeth running up the her other daughter and hugging her tightly. "Elizabeth! How wonderful it is to see you!" She exclaimed.

Brooke could tell Elizabeth was struggling to hold on to a sarcastic retort and mentally thanked her for it. "Hello mother." She responded. "Hello John." She said barely acknowledging her step-father. He smiled politely at her but turned away when Lucas cleared his throat prompting Brooke to introduce him.

"Oh! Dad…mom…this is Lucas Scott, my boyfriend." She introduced him.

Her dad smiled at Lucas and shook his hand while her mother gave him a brief hug. "It's so great that you came with Brooke to meet us!" She squealed. "I was just dying to meet you!"

He looked slightly uncomfortable but smiled back anyway, anything to give the Davis' a good impression of him. "It's nice to meet you as well Mrs. Davis. Brooke and Elizabeth have told me so much about you."

She giggled. "I'm sure most of it was bad. Those two are a terror together." She said proudly. Brooke rolled her eyes at her mother's obvious detachment with real life and noticed behind her mother that her dad was looking rather pointedly at his watch. "Dad do you need to be somewhere?" She asked.

"Actually I do." He said. "I hate to see you and run but I have a meeting to go to."

Lucas immediately went to take his bags from him. "I'll take your bags and call you a cab then." He said amicably. "I know how it is with the last minute business meetings."

Brooke watched the two go outside and she flashed Lucas a grateful smile before turning back to her mother and annoyed looking sister. "So mom, do you want to go rest or go out for lunch?"

"I rested enough on the flight." She said. "How about we go out for lunch. That boyfriend of yours is coming with us right?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and Brooke elbowed her. "Yeah, Luke will come with us if I ask him. I'm pretty sure he's free all day today."

Her mother clapped happily. "Wonderful, its fabulous seeing my two girls again, and you both look so happy. It makes me so proud to see you two getting along and having successful lives."

"Right mother, not like you had anything to do with that." Elizabeth snapped. Mrs. Davis looked hurt temporarily before the happy mask was once again plaster on her face.

"Now Eliza, no need to be rude to me. I know I haven't called as much as you would like me too…" Mrs. Davis started.

Elizabeth snorted rudely. "Trust me, I'm not feeling the least bit neglected by you. Matter of fact if you just so happen to disappear for another couple of years I can't say that I'll be sad."

Brooke opened her mouth to chastise Elizabeth but was beaten to it by Lucas. "Mrs. Davis, I know a wonderful French restaurant not too far from here, why don't we all go there and get reacquainted. It's been a tough couple of days I'm sure Elizabeth is just feeling stressed out and taking it out on you." Lucas said smoothly glaring daggers at Elizabeth.

"That would be just lovely!" Mrs. Davis squealed.

Brooke sighed to herself. At least she had Lucas to keep her mother and sister under control because he seemed to be having a hell of a lot more luck than she was.

* * *

He knew from first hand experience that when someone's family is dysfunctional it usually is dysfunctional in the most bizarre of ways. Take his family for instance, the reason why his was so bizarre was because he had two dads, two moms, two of which are completely controlling, and two volatile and impulsive grandparents that took their roles as matriarch and patriarch so seriously they would die from nosiness, not heart attacks.

Brooke, her mom, and Elizabeth on the other hand were bizarre because either Brooke or Elizabeth would bring up a subject and if it wasn't to their mother's standards the subject would not be touched and added to what he now affectionately called the "hands-off-if-you-want-to-keep-me-happy" pile. Not that Elizabeth cared if her mother was happy, but Brooke did so the pile was left untouched.

He was briefly pulled out of his reverie by the insistent ringing of his cell phone and he made a mental note to thank whoever called for giving him a reason to leave the table.

"I'm sorry, but I have to take this call." He said apologetically. Brooke nodded waving him off while Mrs. Davis and Elizabeth kept on arguing about some subject he didn't care to broach.

Lucas walked to a secluded corner of the fancy French restaurant he had taken them to _Le Soleil_ and answered the phone. "Lucas Scott speaking."

"Hey Luke its Haley."

"You have great timing Hales, I was about to pound me head into the table." He said sighing.

"What's going?" She asked.

"I'm having lunch with Brooke's mom and sister, and although Elizabeth—her sister—is perfectly fine, her mom is another story that I don't even want to talk about." He said exasperated.

"Is she that bad?"

"She's so much like Deb it's scary."

He knew he would get a reaction from that. Haley hadn't liked Deborah Scott when she was alive any more that he did. "Shit…" Haley drawled. "That must suck."

"It does, but I know you didn't call for that so what's up?" He asked.

"I'm just giving you the heads up that both Nathan and I are back in town as are Jake, Peyton, and Jenny."

He groaned. "How are Jake and Peyton?"

"Still pissed off at you and Brooke for all I know. They weren't all that friendly after you two left." She admitted.

"That's just wonderful." He muttered sarcastically. "You think they'd just accept that we aren't betraying them, just trying to give them some objective advice, but can't ask that of Jake he always was a tad bit irrational."

"Well they weren't too happy that you and Brooke were becoming all chummy with the 'enemy' Luke." Haley said.

He let out a snort of laughter. "The enemy that happens to be the mother of his child." He looked back over to the table and noticed that his girlfriend was getting slightly antsy and was giving him death looks every couple of seconds. "Hales I'd love to discuss the mechanics of Jake's messed up though processes but I have to go."

"Alright, I love you and Nate needs you to talk to him about something."

"I love you too and tell Nate to behave himself; I'm not in the mood to clean up any messes." He growled playfully.

He made his way over to the table smiling charmingly at the three women, two of which were glaring at him with all intentions of burning a hole through his skull. "Did I miss anything important?" He asked innocently.

"No, nothing at all." Elizabeth said just as innocently. "Brooke was just telling mother how you two met. Mr. Scott, you are quite the player, and the persistent one at that."

He smiled at her. "My mother always told me it takes persistence to get what you want in this world. I always take her advice to heart."

Mrs. Davis grinned. "My Brookie has always had a knack for picking up the wrong guys, case in point that awful Tim Smith; you must have met him right? Brooke told us you went with her to his engagement party."

"Yes I attended with her, he did seem like a bit of a snake. I can assure you Mrs. Davis that I'm not anything like him." Lucas said.

"I can see that. You're well-mannered and well-off." She said approvingly. "Two things that Tim may have been, but didn't know how to control like you do."

He gave her a strange look. "I'm going to take that as a compliment."

"Well!" Brooke interrupted looking as if she would strangle her mother. "I'm full, and I see that you three are done as well so why don't we call it a day? I'm sure you're tired mother, the jet lag has to be finally catching up to you."

"If you want to get rid of me darling all you have to do is say so." Her mother said.

"We want to get rid of you." Elizabeth said bluntly. "Was that good enough for you?"

Mrs. Davis sniffed delicately before pulling out her cell phone and calling for a cab. "I'll be on my way to the penthouse then. Do call me when you girls are done being inconsiderate and actually want to spend some time with your mother."

Lucas watched their mother walk away with an amused look on his face. "Who wants to bet that she wasn't too happy with the both of you?"

Brooke glared at him for what seemed liked the millionth time today. "Shut up Scott, if I had to deal with her for any longer I would have lunged across the table and choked her."

"Right behind you sis." Elizabeth said. "That woman is insufferable."

"I think I would have paid to see that." Lucas commented.

TBC

A/N: Hands down the shortest chapter I've ever written. I barely reached 2,000 words. Can you tell I didn't like it all too much?


	18. Part 17

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 17**

_"Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." – Buddha_

"Whoa…it makes me wonder why you haven't snatched him up for good." Elizabeth said in awe looking around her new office at Promotex Sports. "He actually gave me an office so I can play around on the computer?"

Brooke grinned, happy that her sister was enjoying her new office. Lucas had flown out of town again and had entrusted her with the mission of getting Elizabeth settled into her new job as graphics and web designer of Promotex. "This isn't all fun and games Eliza, he told me to tell you that he needs a prototype up and running by the end of next week." Brooke warned her.

Elizabeth snorted ignoring Brooke's warning choosing instead to unpack the items she had brought to personalize her new office space. "Brooke give me a break, I'm a professional as much as it pains you to admit it. I'll have his prototype done way before that."

"I know, but it doesn't hurt to warn you little sister." Brooke said smiling.

"Oh this is great!" A new voice sneered from the door. "I've known the man longer than both of you, and worked with him longer than one of you and I don't even get my own office? That's favoritism I tell you. When Mr. Scott gets back to the office I'll be having a word with him about this! Just because he's sleeping with the new partner doesn't mean he has to cater to her sister!"

Brooke whirled around in surprise ready to attack one of Lucas's employers. "Wait who the hell…" She trailed off seeing Nancy's grinning face looking back at her.

"That was classic!" Nancy said howling with laughter. "You two looked like you were ready to jump me!"

"Nancy, don't you have better things to do with your time? Like…oh I don't know—your job?" Brooke questioned angrily.

"Actually I don't. Haley has Nathan on a short string, something big happened apparently so he hasn't made any trouble that I have to fix except for me canceling all of his publicity events. So I'm all yours for the next couple of days." Nancy said happily. "So Elizabeth, how do you like it here at Promotex?"

The girl in question shrugged still setting up her various trinkets on the polished black lacquer desk. "Brooke just showed me my office today so I haven't had any time to interact with anyone."

Nancy pouted. "And why did Luke leave you to show her around Promotex and not someone who actually worked here? I know someone that name starts with an N and ends with a Y"

"Maybe because Brooke's my sister and you actually have work to do while my sister, who happens to OWN her company, can call her own shots?" Elizabeth responded helpfully.

Nancy thought about that for awhile. "Well I guess you're right."

Brooke glanced over at Nancy. "You're here for some reason other than bothering us I hope."

She glared at her. "Oh Brookie, you wound me. I actually have very important news that has to deal with two of our mutual friends but if you want to be so rude to me then of course I'll just be on my merry way. What does it matter that your lovely boyfriend got back into town early this morning JUST so he could hear the very news that you will also hear if you would just be polite to me…"

Brooke growled inwardly and raised her hand to stop Nancy's tirade. "Alright I got it. I'm sorry, what is it that you're supposed to be telling me and why exactly is Lucas back in town? He was supposed to be gone for a week."

"Well…" Nancy started and then paused for dramatic effect. "Haley and Nathan have some very big news to tell us and I'm here to invite you to dinner on their behalf."

"What's the news?" Brooke asked intrigued.

Nancy rolled her eyes. "I don't know Brookie, otherwise I would have cut to the chase and just told you the news instead of inviting you to dinner!"

The conversation was interrupted by Lucas's secretary. "I'm sorry about interrupting but there are some visitors in Mr. Scott's conference room waiting for you Miss Davis." She said softly.

Brooke's eyebrows shot up in surprise as did Nancy's and Elizabeth's. "Wow sis, I was under the impression you had a job across the city, not here." Elizabeth said.

Brooke shot her sister a dirty look before turning to the secretary again. "Who are the visitors Angela?"

Angela looked down at her notepad where she must have jotted down their names. "A Peyton Sawyer and Jake Jagielski? They said that Mr. Scott told them that you would be here."

Brooke groaned loudly. "Just wonderful…I'm going to KILL Lucas." She muttered darkly. "Angela can you tell them I'll be there in just a few minutes."

Angela nodded and made her way back to the conference room. "Who wants to take bets that they're here to yell at me some more?" Brooke asked reaching for her purse that was discarded earlier on Elizabeth's desk chair.

Both Elizabeth and Nancy raised their hands and Brooke growled at both of them. "That was rhetorical, and Nancy don't think you're going to stay here while I get yelled at you're coming with me." She commanded. "Have fun in your new office Eliza, I'll catch up with you later."

Elizabeth nodded and waved goodbye. Brooke and Nancy made quick work of walking to the conference room although it was on a different floor and across the building. Brooke just wanted to get the confrontation over and done with. There was no use hiding anything anymore when it came to those two. She didn't agree with their decisions and she wasn't going to play spineless supporter while they kept Jenny away from her biological mother.

"To whom do I owe the pleasure of this highly unexpected visit?" Brooke asked sarcastically upon entering Lucas's private conference room. "I was under the impression that I was blacklisted from the Peyton and Jake worshipping society."

Peyton's mouth fell open. "Brooke, we didn't come here to argue with you…"

"Save it Peyton, the last time you spoke to me you made it very clear that we were no longer friends and my opinion meant absolutely nothing to you so unless you are here to grovel at my feet for being so amazingly dumb I don't even want to hear it." Brooke said not bothering to sit down, she didn't think this conversation would last long enough for her to get comfortable.

Jake eyed Nancy wearily. "So is she here for backup in case one of us 'attacks' you?" He asked sarcastically.

Nancy smiled, always happy to jump into an argument. "You would be correct Mr. Jagielski. Lucas was always good with foresight; he could tell when someone was going to be an asshole."

Jake eyes grew dark with anger but he didn't respond, instead focusing his attention on Brooke. "We came here to tell you that Nikki is taking us to court and we hoped that you would be a character witness for both of us but I guess that won't be the case."

Brooke quickly masked her look of surprise. "I didn't know that she was going to actually take you to court." She said softly.

"Which if I recall" Nancy put in. "Could have been avoided if you had allowed her to visit her daughter?"

Peyton glared at Nancy. "Not that it's any of your business." She looked at Brooke. "Brooke we've been friends for years, I'm sorry that I was such a bitch to you in Florida but I was angry and all I was thinking about was Nikki taking away the girl that I've come to know as my daughter. If you were to testify about my character in court…and Jake's as well…it would mean the world to me…" Peyton pleaded.

"So you still won't admit that you were wrong?" Brooke asked in disbelief. "Not going to admit that Nikki isn't going to be the death of your relationship with Jenny?"

Nancy smirked. "What is she trying to get anyway? Visitation or some type of custody?"

Jake gritted his teeth and Brooke smothered a laugh. She could tell that Nancy was getting on Jake's nerves. "Joint custody."

Nancy started laughing and not the polite laughter. She literally dropped to the floor and started crying she thought it was so funny. Once she was able to contain her amusement she looked back into the angry faces of Jake and Peyton. "Look what happens when you start playing God with people's lives." She said mockingly. "It comes back and bites you in the ass."

Brooke gave Nancy a warning look. "You both brought this on yourself, if you had listened to reason instead of running scared you wouldn't be having a court date now. I'm not going to help you keep Jenny away from Nikki so go find someone else that is willing to do it."

"But Brooke!" Peyton protested.

Brooke smiled sadly. "I'm not going to compromise what I believe is right for you Peyt, you knew that before you stepped into this room and expected it of me."

Jake stood up angrily. "Brooke if you want to be such a self righteous bitch go ahead." He growled before storming out the door. Nancy watched him with an amused smile on her face.

"Shouldn't you be running after him?" Nancy asked Peyton who was still locked in a staring contest with Brooke.

Peyton shook her head. "Brooke, I'm sorry and I admit that I was being stupid and irrational about Nikki's presence. Does that make you feel better?"

"It would only make me feel better if you actually believed the words that were coming out of your mouth Peyt. Goodbye." Brooke said. "I think this conversation ended the night you refused to listen to me. It was worthless of you to even come here today."

With tears leaking out of her eyes Peyton made her way out of the room.

* * *

Brooke smiled happily as she entered Lucas's penthouse. Throwing her keys on the side table and making her way towards Lucas's home office where she knew he'd be. She had driven around for awhile after leaving Nancy at the office. She had to think about what she had just done. In not so many words she had basically told her friends to go screw themselves and she knew that would bode well with them and there would be an encore performance.

Making her way into his office she leaned over his office chair and gave him a soft kiss. "Hello Mr. Scott…" She moaned playfully starting a trail of kisses down the side of his face. "I missed you when you were gone…"

He grinned at her pulling her small body into his lap. "I was gone a total of a day and a couple of hours. You couldn't have missed me that much."

She sighed leaning her head on his chest. "You're such a bastard." She complained totally dispelling the calm, romantic mood she had just set.

He raised an eyebrow. "You just came in here and was all 'LUCAS SCOTT YOU'RE SUCH A SEX GOD' and NOW I'm a BASTARD?"

She giggled but quickly sobered up. "First you left me to deal with my mother for ANOTHER agonizing breakfast and lunch, then you order me to go help my sister with her office, and last—oh and this is the clincher—you send my lovely best friends who are mad at me for some inane reason to come and 'convince' me to testify for them. You're a bastard Lucas Scott!"

He kissed the side of her mouth tenderly. "I'm sorry…were Peyton and Jake really that bad?"

"I just made it worse. I was pissed off that they had the nerve to come and ask me to testify for them when they were such idiots so I used every opportunity to make jabs at them, and Nancy certainly didn't help…"

"You let Nancy actually stay there and listen?" He asked surprised.

"I asked her to."

"Nancy is what I like to call an aggravated empath. She picks up on your aggravation and makes sure the other party knows it." Lucas said.

"Yeah, she almost had Jake ready to attack her." Brooke said chuckling. She sighed softly and started tracing patterns on his arm. "I'm not going to testify for them…does that make me a bad person?"

"No, it makes you the exact opposite." He assured her. "Brooke, you love Peyton and Jake, but you're strong enough to realize that what they are doing is eventually going to hurt Jenny and both of them as well. Even if they don't see that you're trying to help them they will someday and you have to get by knowing that it will happen. Probably not today or tomorrow, but someday soon."

Brooke smiled her eyes filling with tears. In the past couple of months she had been with Lucas she had begun to notice just how much he helped her and made her a better person. If it hadn't been for him she would have still been a bitter girl thinking that all men were the same: awful, evil, and lying creatures that used women, and even if he had hurt her all it did was reaffirm that she loved him.

She entwined her fingers with his and hummed softly for a second. "Thank you…" She finally said.

"I only speak what I know." Lucas said brushing off her thanks. "I love you…"

She smiled. "I love you too."

Brooke laughed as Lucas looked at her in complete and total surprise. "When…"

She put a finger to his lips to silence him. "As a child I always thought that when you finally figured out that you loved someone there would be this whole big event. Fireworks would go off, lightening would strike, confetti would fly…" She giggled. "I don't really know what I wanted to happen but I thought something would. When I met Tim…that didn't happen but I got engaged to him anyway, and when I met you…it didn't happen but it didn't have to. I knew without any of the bells and whistles that you were the one that was right for me…that having you with me and beside me always is what completed me. I ignored it that day I was told you were in the hospital, I realized it when you cheated on me with Serena, and I embraced it when you continuously gave me a reason to trust you." She paused looking into his eyes that were as wet as she knew hers were. "I love you Lucas Eugene Scott…only you and always you."

He smiled wiping away the few tears that had escaped. "That was…it was…" He trailed off at a loss for words.

She kissed him again, making sure she piled into that kiss all the passion and love she felt for him. "You don't have to respond with some big speech like I did Luke, you already did it for me once, and you were patient enough to wait until I was ready to say it back."

He nodded. "I love you Brooke Davis…only you and always you." He said repeating her words.

She grinned jumping off of his lap and pulling on his tie lazily so she could engage in another hot, smoldering, and definitely erotic kiss. "I know…so why don't you show me how much?" She asked suggestively pressing her body into his.

He groaned. "With pleasure Miss Davis…with pleasure…"

* * *

Lucas and Brooke arrived at the ritzy Wolfgang Puck restaurant in Manhattan early but were relieved to see Nancy, Haley, and Nathan already sitting down waiting for them. They made their way over to the table and seated themselves in the last two empty seats.

"We're not late are we?" Brooke asked looking worriedly at her watch. "I could have sworn that Nancy said seven…"

"No you're fine." Nathan said. "We just wanted to get seats. Wolfgang Puck is pretty popular of Friday nights."

"So what's up with you two?" Haley asked suspiciously. "You two are glowing!"

A pink tinge immediately appeared on Lucas's face while Brooke stayed silent hoping Haley would drop the subject. "Nothing is going on Hales."

Nancy surveyed Lucas for a long time before breaking out into a grin. "You slept with him? That's nothing new."

Brooke reached across the table and smacked Nancy hard on the arm. "NANCE! That isn't any of your business!"

"But I'm right of course." Nancy said. "You two have that happy 'everything is right in the world' look and I know for a fact that Lucas only gets that if he gets laid or some girl fulfills his every…" She broke up and sized him up again then gasped. "OH MY GOD! Brookie did you finally find the nerve to tell Lucas how you felt about him?"

Brooke blushed but nodded. No use keeping it a secret now that Nancy was on the quiz Lucas and Brooke bandwagon. Nathan clapped Lucas on the back and Haley gave the two approving smiles. "I'm glad you two finally got it worked out!" Haley said happily.

"Enough about us!" Brooke said. "I'm tired of being kept in suspense! What did you and Nathan feel was important enough to drag all of us to dinner?"

Haley grinned and reached for Nathan's hand who held it tightly. "Well…"

Nancy groaned. "Oh COME ON! Spit it out already Hales!"

"We're having a baby." Nathan announced.

The table was dead silent for a couple of moments while the news sunk in. Party boy Nathan and Workaholic Haley actually having a kid? That didn't seem like such a smart idea.

Lucas was the first to speak up. "Are you guys…sure about this? I mean no offense but you two aren't exactly…"

"As of two days ago I gave back my partying card bro." Nathan said.

"And I'm canceling my next tour." Haley added.

Nancy, Lucas, and Brooke started at them again. "Well then…congratulations!" Nancy finally said hugging both Haley and Nathan. "You guys will make wonderful parents."

Brooke and Lucas echoed her sentiments each giving the expecting couple hugs and kisses.

"That's not all…" Haley said when the noise died down. "Luke, you've been my friend for as long as I can remember and I know I always told you that if ever had a kid I'd want him to be named after you…"

Lucas's eyes widened. "You're naming your kid after me?" He asked in disbelief.

Nathan smiled at his brother. "We were given the option of knowing the sex of our child and once finding out it was a boy it seemed only fair that we named him after you. Luke, you've been an integral part of both of our lives and we wouldn't be where we are today without you." Nathan said truthfully.

Lucas eyes filled with tears for the second time that night. "Thanks you guys…it's an honor…"

"I'm still not done." Haley said.

Brooke laughed. "Tonight is just full of surprises…I just hope it's nothing else about Luke I don't think he could handle it."

"Actually…" Nathan said. "Nance, I have to give you credit for sticking by me so long and it's because of you that my life isn't fair game for the media and Haley knows what's fact and what's fiction. So I want to ask you if you would be my child's godmother."

Nancy's mouth dropped open and she gave a loud squeal. "HOLY SHIT I WOULD LOVE TO!"

"And I know you're already going to be his uncle but you're more than that in my eyes…so Lucas will you be his god father?" She asked.

Lucas blinked. "Of course…"

And that is what you call for the most part, a successful day.

TBC

A/N: Ooohh! I loved this chapter. The Brucas scene was fun to write. So question: Would guys want me to elaborate more on the whole Nikki situation or are you fine not seeing her? This is primarily a Brucas story so I'd find some way to incorporate them...I just want to know what you guys think.


	19. Part 18

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 18**

Brooke slid into the seat of the newly vacated table at the café across from Peyton's gallery. In favor of being friends than enemies, Peyton had invited her to dinner in order to apologize. At least that's what she hoped she was here for. She wasn't in the mood for a fight. She had been on a perpetual high ever since she had told Luke she was in love with him and heard of Haley's pregnancy.

She looked up and smiled slightly as Peyton rushed in blonde curls messily pulled back into a rushed pony tail. "Hi Brooke, I'm so glad that you came. I didn't think you would after our last talk." Peyton said nervously sinking into the seat across from her.

Brooke shrugged. "I didn't see the harm in coming." She answered carefully. "Unless there's a reason why you're so apprehensive. Are you going to ask me to testify again?"

Peyton shook her head twisting the white napkin in her hand into knots, a habit she had picked up during high school. "I asked you here to apologize once again. When you told me last time that you wouldn't even hear me out until I believed what I was saying I took that to heart and I realized that I was acting irrational and taking out my fears on you and for that I am truly sorry. I know you were acting in my best interest, and you were right, if we hadn't been so stubborn and had actually listened to you and Lucas we wouldn't be in the predicament that we are in now."

Brooke eyes widened and she sat back heavily in her chair. "Well Peyt, I have to say you really surprised me. I thought you and Jake would be too proud to apologize to me."

"Jake doesn't know I came here today. In fact I think he'd be pretty pissed off if he knew about it. He was really hurt that you weren't siding with him. He felt like you were attacking him personally."

She sighed. "That wasn't my intention Peyt, I would never attack Jake…you two are the people I've known the longest and I consider both of you my best friends. Why would I jeopardize that by going after him? I love Jenny like she was my own daughter, I don't want to see you two deprive her of her biological mother."

"I know Brooke…" Peyton started.

"That's right you should know Peyton. Your mother died so you know the full effects of not having a mother, and I know you try your hardest to be the mother that Jenny needs but you can't take the place of her biological mother! You can't ever have that bond with her Peyt. I love you, and I don't want some stupid decision of Jake's to come back and bite both of you in the ass!"

Peyton's eyes filled with tears again and she hurriedly brushed them away. "I know you're right Brooke, I do…it's just hard you know? There's always that fear that maybe once Jenny gets to know Nikki she won't need me anymore…I don't want that to happen."

"Jenny will always need you Peyt, you don't have to worry about that." Brooke assured her.

Peyton nodded. "So are we good?"

Brooke smiled. "No hard feelings Peyt, you're like my sister I can't stay mad at you for long."

Peyton laughed obviously relieved. "That's good. This was the first big fight we've had in years, it was absolute torture not being able to talk to you, and it made it worse that you've become best friends with Haley and Nancy."

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "I must admit that I do spend a lot of time with Haley and Nancy but that's because I'm in a steady relationship with their best friend. Of course I'll see them a lot. They were good friends to me when you and Jake were being total bastards. We got close, but no matter how close we are you are my best friend and you will stay my best friend."

"How are things going with Lucas?" Peyton asked.

If it was possible the smile that broke out on Brooke's face seemed to light up the room. "I'm guessing things are going good." Peyton commented laughing at her friend's reaction.

"I finally told him I loved him a couple days ago." Brooke admitted. "It felt so good giving him that reassurance finally and finally being able to admit it to myself was even better."

Peyton squealed. "Details!"

Brooke shrugged. "It wasn't anything special. It was the same day you and Jake came to the office and I was telling him about what went on and he made me believe that I wasn't screwing up my friendship with you guys as usual and I just told him how I felt. I gave this long speech that basically said that he was good for me and I loved him." Brooke grinned at the memory. "I think I even saw some tears."

Peyton's eyes filled with tears again. "I'm so happy for you Brooke! It's about time you found yourself a good man that actually treated you well. So when can I expect a ring to be on that finger?"

Brooke burst out laughing. "We've been going out a couple of months Peyt, I don't think we're quite ready for that yet. In fact, when are you and Jake going to get hitched? You've been engaged for as long as I can remember." Brooke teased.

"It hasn't been that long!" Peyton protested a red tinge gracing her face. "We've been so caught up in work and taking care of Jenny we haven't gotten around to planning it."

Brooke shook her head in disbelief. "How long has it been now? I think it's been a YEAR since he asked you to marry him Peyt!"

"And it's going to be even longer since we have to pay to go to court." Peyton said bitterly.

Brooke gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry Peyt, but you two will get there. I know you will."

"Always the optimist Brooke." Peyton said idly.

"Not always, just since I met Lucas. I think he's rubbing off on me." She said sheepishly.

Peyton giggled. "I wouldn't be too surprised if you two got married before Jake and me"

Brooke's cell phone rang interrupting their conversation and she gave Peyton an apologetic smile while she answered it. "Hello?"

"Hey beautiful." Lucas replied. "You said you weren't working today so I was wondering if you wouldn't mind dropping by my office."

She raised an eyebrow. "Right now? I thought I told you I was going to have lunch with Peyton today."

"You did, but my visitor didn't know that you had a lunch date." He informed her vaguely. "I'm assuming then, that you are still with Peyton?"

"Yeah…Luke what is this about?" She asked confused.

"Nikki is sitting in my office right now requesting that you come and join us for a brief chat."

Brooke's eyebrows shot up higher and she stole a glance at Peyton who wasn't paying her conversation any attention. Instead the woman in question was engrossed in her salad that had just arrived. "Luke…can you handle that without me?"

"I'm sorry to pull you away from your lunch with Peyton but I'd rather not." He pleaded softly. "I like having your opinion on certain matters."

She sighed. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Thank you, I love you B." He said.

"I love you too Luke." She responded disconnecting the call.

"I'm guessing it's something that can't be avoided." Peyton said once Brooke had turned back to her.

Brooke nodded. "I'm sorry, but…"

Peyton waved her hand. "No it's fine, I'm glad that we cleared the air between us."

Brooke stood up bidding her goodbye. "So am I Peyt, I'll call you later."

* * *

Lucas didn't know what to expect when Nicole Green walked into his office. The fact that he hadn't seen her in almost three weeks now was proof enough to him that this was completely random. It was true that both he and Brooke had said that if she needed anything she could always contact them but that was simply being polite. "Call me if you need anything" was one of those phrases that you threw out there not really expecting it to ever happen. 

Of course if he had to be wrong about something he just _had _to be wrong about this.

Now they were waiting in limbo until Brooke decided to arrive. He had called her, albeit a little regretfully knowing that she was trying to salvage her friendship with Peyton, but Nikki had insisted that they both be around so she could tell both of them her news at once.

He let out a thankful sight of relief when Angela, his secretary, ushered Brooke into his office. He stood up and walked over to her hugging her briefly and whispering softly into her ear: "I'm really glad you showed up just now, sitting here in silence was starting to get to me."

She smiled and took a seat next to Nikki while he returned to his office chair.

"So Nikki, we're both here why don't you tell us the big news you have?" Brooke suggested to the brunette.

"Well, when you two left Florida you said that you agreed with what I was trying to do, and that if I needed any help that you would be there for me. Let me first say that I am very thankful for that. In Palm Beach I have a reputation and I doubt many people would ever offer me any help besides Serena and her family." Nikki started straightening her short black skirt. "With that said, I've decided that because of Jake and Peyton's refusal to let me even see my daughter has changed my mind quite a bit about what I want exactly from them…."

Brooke cut her off. "I've already heard, you're petitioning for joint custody."

Nikki looked surprised. "I was under the impression that you weren't on speaking terms with your friends."

"That may have been the case in Florida, but we could hardly stay mad at each other for long." Brooke replied smoothly. "I'm sorry for interrupting, please continue."

"Yes, well I was hoping that you and Lucas would speak on my behalf." Nikki said.

Lucas looked at her incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me Nikki. You don't expect us to speak on your behalf when we won't even speak up for Jake or Peyton."

"No, I don't expect you to do that, but the judge is more than likely going to call Brooke as a character witness for Peyton and you as a character witness for me. I just want you to tell the judge the same thing that you told me. That I've changed and you think I deserve the right to see my child."

He gave her a helpless look. "By defending you before my friends were mad at me for days, if I testified for you it'd be even worse. Nikki I'm sorry but I don't think I can do this for you."

She gave him a determined look, a steely glint in her eyes. "Whatever happened to the Lucas Scott who stuck by his morals and didn't care what others thought?" She challenged him. "The Lucas Scott that told me so many years ago when he first met me that even if the whole world was against me, he wouldn't stop being my friend because others thought he should."

Brooke watched the exchange with interest; even now she was still learning things about Lucas's rocky past. Lucas on the other hand looked slightly guilty. "I figured you would bring that up." He said softly. "I was just thinking about the first time we met…" He trailed off before perking up considerably. "Alright Nikki, I don't think you're going to get the same answer from Brooke but if the judge does ask me any questions I promise I'll tell the truth."

Brooke spoke up then. "Lucas is right, I do support what you're going after but I won't alienate my best friends by testifying on your behalf."

Nikki bowed her head in defeat. "Lucas as long as I have your support I know that today wasn't a complete waste. Thank you for hearing me out at least Brooke." She said standing up.

"Wait, are you going to be staying here in New York until the meeting with the judge?" He asked.

She nodded. "I'm staying here with Serena, we decided it'd be best to get everything settled before returning to Florida." She paused at the door a thoughtful look on her face. "We barely got a chance to speak to each other while you were in Florida, and I know Serena wants to make up for what she did to you while you were there so I was thinking maybe we could hang out later on…" She suggested.

He smiled amicably. "That's fine Nikki, you have my cell phone and office numbers just give me a call when you guys have a time and place."

"Alright, see you soon then Luke, and it was nice talking to you again Brooke."

Brooke gave a half-hearted wave to Nikki and waited until the door was closed firmly behind the brunette before she turned a full on glare on her him. "What the hell? 'Of course I'd love to go out with you Nikki!'" She mocked. "'Although my crazy ex-girlfriend who tried to ruin my life will be there!'"

He sighed. "Serena apologized and you said you were fine with it."

She snorted. "That was before you decided you needed to 'catch up with her'" She growled. "What do you need to catch up on? The bitch is rich she must not do anything but sit around and shop all day long!"

He walked over and sat on his desk in front of her with an amused expression on his face. "It's not funny!" She demanded jumping up to yell in his face.

He grinned and pulled on her wrist so she toppled on top of him. Wrapping his arms securely around her he said: "You're jealous."

"Jealous of what?" She protested. "I have nothing to worry about, I am very secure about my place in this relationship."

Lucas turned her towards him at looked at her. "You're right, you do have nothing to worry about because Serena and I have no chance of ever getting back together. I'm going to visit her as an old friend and that's it. She knows from seeing us in Florida just how much I care about you and love you. She wouldn't try to get between what we have Brooke." He reassured her.

She relaxed against him. "I knew that, didn't I just tell you that?"

He kissed her hard on the mouth. "Of course you did."

* * *

It was almost nine at night when she finally arrived back at her apartment. She was called in to work to make some last minute decisions with the magazine so she had forgone her usual place at the Friday night dinner table with Haley, Lucas, Nathan, and Nancy. Instead she was going to spend her Friday night at home alone, something she hadn't done since she had started dating Lucas. 

Turning the key in the lock she paused when she heard her next door neighbor calling her name. "Yes Francie?" She asked.

"Long time no see Brooke, you've got some busy activity in there today." She informed her.

"What?" She asked confused.

"Your curly haired friend was here directing some men around I think." Francie said a knowing smile on her face. "You're one lucky girl Brooke, go inside and see."

Brooke took Francie's advice waving her goodbye to her neighbor and stepping inside her apartment. She gasped in surprise and her eyes filled with tears as she looked around the small apartment. The living room was littered with bouquets of every type of flower from orchards, to lilies, and even carnations. Every color and type of flower flooded the entryway, living room, and hallway.

In the kitchen a note was tacked to the refrigerator that simply said: _"Look inside."_ She followed instructions and inside the fridge was a fully prepared meal ready to be heated and a chilled bottle of champagne. Taped to the bottle of champagne was another simple note that said: _"Take a glass and walk to the bedroom."_

Once again following instructions she made her way inside her bedroom that was crowded with bouquets of roses and looked around for the note she knew she would find. Trying hard to control her tears she picked up the note and read:

_A wise man once said, or maybe not a wise man but one that was in love, that a "perfect love is rare indeed—for to be a lover will require that you continually have the subtlety of the very wise, the flexibility of the child, the sensitivity of the artist, the understanding of the philosopher, the acceptance of the saint, the tolerance of the scholar, and the fortitude of the certain." I believe that when I found you I gained all these things, but more importantly I gained someone who understood me implicitly, someone who completed me, and someone I knew finally would end the searching that I had been doing all of my life. I had finally found that person that did all of these things when I met you. There isn't many ways to say this phrase. I love you. I love you with all of my heart and all of my soul and I know that no other person will ever be able to affect me the way that you do._

_It's barely been three months but I know already that you are the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. It's too early in this relationship for me to propose to you, but I want you to know that it's coming, and hopefully with luck someday when we're both truly ready I'll be able to give you the ring I so desperately want to give you today. So for now I'll settle with having you near me always, and sealing this with a promise._

_From the day you've met me you've had the key to my heart, maybe now is the time to give you the key to something else, another man clearly in love said: "Come live with me, and be my love, And we will some new pleasures prove Of golden sands, and crystal brooks, With silken lines, and silver hooks." _

_Forever yours, _

_Lucas_

Taped to a red satin pillow was a black velvet box and inside were a key and a beautiful platinum ring. At that exact moment the phone rang.

"You're wonderful." She managed to choke out still staring at the contents in the box.

"Will you move in with me?" He asked softly.

She laughed, tears pouring down her cheeks. "Did you really think I'd say no?"

TBC

A/N: Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! No authors note needed. Just for clarification if you read the note hard enough the ring in the box is NOT an engagement ring, it's a promise ring.


	20. Part 19

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 19**

_"Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of." - Anon_

For all intents and purposes, Brooke Davis had never attended a basketball game. Basketball fell under that wonderful category of sports and that was one category a girly girl never even touched, especially _this _girly girl. The only thing she could probably tell you about basketball was that it had some hot guys. Take her boyfriend for one and his equally hot brother, but sadly, that's as far as her knowledge went.

Upon hearing that she had never attended a basketball game her newly adopted family, consisting of Nancy, Haley, and Nathan with her overly eager boyfriend Lucas decided to take her to Nathan's latest game which would be held at home in New York.

That is why she was currently suffering a headache in her courtside seats at the Knicks versus Heat game at Madison Square Garden.

"SO HOW ARE YOU LIKING IT?" Haley yelled into her ear.

Brooke gave the girl a tight smile. "BESIDES THE FACT THAT I'M GOING DEAF IN ONE OF MY EARS, MY HEAD IS POUNDING, AND I JUST BROKE A NAIL I'M PERFECTLY DANDY!" She yelled back.

Haley laughed at her before turning back towards Lucas. Brooke shook her head in amusement. It wasn't that she wasn't enjoying herself but she couldn't be all happy because her head currently felt like jackhammers were making a permanent home.

Brooke caught Lucas's eye and signaled to him that she was going to go stand in the lobby. The game would be over soon anyway, and if she wanted to survive the photo shoots and after parties she needed to get rid of this headache and fast.

Pushing her way past the noisy crowds of people she found a relatively quiet spot outside and sat down prepared to sit out there until the game was over. Unfortunately the god's weren't smiling on her today because she was interrupted almost five minutes after she sat down by someone she definitely did not want to see.

"Theresa?" She asked in disbelief staring at her former best friend. She gave a bitter laugh and took another swig of her Evian. "As if this day could get ANY worse." She muttered. "What are the odds I'd see you again at a basketball game?"

"Tim has season tickets." She replied coldly. "Don't think too highly of yourself Brooke, I certainly didn't plan to be here the same time or place as you but it happened so how about you act like an adult for once in your life."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Tim must be training you in the ways of making a good comeback." She said appreciatively. "At least I don't have to worry about you crying because of something I said."

Theresa seemed to have caught sight of Brooke's platinum ring because her eyebrows seemed to jump off of her face. "See something you like?" Brooke drawled.

"Didn't think you'd get engaged so quickly Brooke, at my engagement part you were so bitter I thought that boy you were dragging around would run away as quick as humanly possible."

"Oh no, in fact the same boy I was 'dragging around' gave this to me, and not even as an engagement ring." Brooke said in a cool even tone. "Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Theresa, you're losing your gold digger touch. I thought you'd sniff out how rich Lucas is by now."

Brooke could barely contain her laugher knowing that Theresa was ready to explode at any minute. "Lucas? Is he the guy that was hanging all over you at the party? What a shame that he has to buy your love."

Someone cleared their throat from behind Theresa and both girls looked up in surprise. "Trust me, I don't have to buy anyone's love." Lucas said confidently. "A girl like Brooke shouldn't be seen in anything less than perfection and perfection is what that ring is. Now I'm sure you don't quite understand the concept of real love and showing affection, I doubt that bastard of a husband you married knows anything about how to treat a woman, but Brooke here does so please don't try to trivialize what she's told you."

Brooke crossed the sidewalk to stand next to him and gave Theresa a nasty smile. "Well Lucas I couldn't have said it better myself. Is the game over already?" She asked all too sweetly.

They heard the makings of a growl but Brooke knew Lucas wouldn't end the game when they were so clearly ahead. "Nathan has to sign some autographs, you know being the MVP of the Knicks will do that to you, and I may have to answer a lot of questions but then we'll be on our way." He smiled slightly. "The after party is going to have us up until all times of the night, are you sure you'll be up to it?"

Brooke looked at him mock concern filling her eyes. "Luke shouldn't I be asking you that? It must be tough work maintaining a business that grosses over 180 million a year. All those sport and movie stars always calling us and dealing with the press; sometimes I wonder how you can handle it!"

"Don't worry about me Brooke, as long as you're by my side I can do anything." He said grinning at the corny line.

"As entertaining as it is to see you two go back and forth I have better things to do with my time!" Theresa seethed. There was rage in the woman's eyes and Brooke was almost afraid she might attack them. "There's Tim now, I'll leave you two _lovebirds_ alone."

Apparently Lucas was having way too much fun. "No! I haven't seen Tim since the night of your engagement part and we hit it off ever so well. I have a few minutes before the game will officially be out and I have to join my brother, why don't Brooke and I come over and say hello?"

She gritted her teeth. "Sure, I'm sure Tim would love to see the both of you."

Barely holding their laughter the couple trailed behind Theresa as she reentered the stadium. They could tell when Tim spotted them because his face immediately took on an impassive expression.

"Tim!" Lucas called with false enthusiasm. "What a coincidence it is meeting you here, how have you been?"

He looked at Lucas strangely. "Just fine Lucas, how's the business coming along?"

Lucas smiled widely. "Oh you know the usual: traveling, going to basketball games, get paid thousands for overseeing my clients." He paused spotting Nathan coming out of the lobby dressed in sweats being approached by the paparazzi. "Matter of fact, duty calls, I have to go save my brother from the masses. Brooke are you coming?"

She nodded waving snobbishly to Theresa and Tim. "Maybe we'll be seeing you soon?" She asked sweetly.

Tim rolled his eyes. "I doubt it Brooke, and it was just wonderful seeing you again Lucas." He said sarcasm heavily laced in his voice.

Brooke and Lucas watched them walk away waiting for them to be a safe enough distance before bursting out into hysterical laughter. When they had finally caught their breath Brooke grinned at her boyfriend and kissed him. "Thanks for playing along." She said. "I don't know what possessed me to do that."

He shrugged. "They had it coming, plus I enjoyed it. Now let's go save Haley and Nathan before their whole life story appears in US Weekly."

She chuckled. "What's the harm in that? It happens anyway!"

* * *

Brooke snatched the drink that Haley was about to guzzle down. "Alright Hales, pregnant women should not be drinking alcohol until the baby is born, and that is an order." She chastised while downing the drink herself. "Although I understand what would drive you to drink here. This place is filled with chauvinist pigs otherwise known as basketball players and bimbos trying to hit on our men."

After a brief question and answer session with the paparazzi the group had been ushered into a limo and driven to the after party for the Knicks since they had won the game. Once again, it was Brooke's first time being at one and she was quite sure she didn't like it at all. Everywhere she turned she could see money hungry scavengers sizing up Lucas like he was the only man within a fifty mile radius.

"How do you deal with it?" Brooke asked exasperated as she glared daggers at a strawberry blonde girl who was approaching Lucas.

Haley shrugged. "You get used to seeing it happen and you take confidence in the fact that he won't cheat on you." Haley glanced at her smiling. "Which you don't have to worry about Brooke, Luke isn't going to cheat on you, not with any of these girls at least. He's probably dated at least half of them."

"Oh yeah I forgot." Brooke commented bitterly. "Lucas was quite the player before he met me."

"Brookie, get over it. Lucas is attractive and before he met you he was under the impression that it was absolutely hopeless for someone to see anything in him besides his money so he played the field."

"So if Nathan had been like that you wouldn't have minded?" Brooke asked.

"He _was_ like that." Haley said smiling. "In high school, before we started dating, but I got over it."

"You didn't like him to get over it!" Brooke protested.

Haley giggled. "That's true." She pointed towards Lucas. "I think you better go save Lucas from the blond chick. She's getting too close."

Brooke looked over to Lucas and assessed the scene before growling. "Did I ever tell you I hate blondes?" She stalked over to Lucas and made a show of wrapping her arms around his waste and kissing his neck. "Hey _sweetie_, Hales is getting kind of tired don't you think it's time to go?"

He looked at her surprised. "Brooke I'd like you to meet Nina Argermeyer, she's another one of the publicists that works exclusively at Promotex."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Brooke Davis his girlfriend."

The woman smiled brightly. "It's so nice to finally meet you! Lucas is always talking about you but I'm glad I finally have a face to add to the name."

Brooke tried to smile brightly but failed miserably. "Can't say I've heard a single word about you."

Nina's bright smile dropped in caliber. "Well…" She shot Lucas a helpless look. "Like I said it's been great meeting you, enjoy the party!" The girl practically raced away, probably running from the bad vibes that were virtually radiating off of Brooke.

"What _WAS_ that?" Lucas asked amazed. "Did I just see the reemergence of the jealous Brooke?"

She scoffed. "Jealous, me? Like I told you before that never happens." She traced small circles on his arm. "It's not my fault Ms. Argermeyer was all on you like you were the new God."

Lucas laughed. "Whatever Brookie, I must say the jealous Brooke is quite sexy." He murmured beginning a trail of light kisses along her jaw. "Were you serious about Hales?" He asked in between massaging her shoulders and showering her face with light kisses.

She shook her head. "Hales is having a fun time people watching."

"Where is everyone else?" He asked.

Brooke scanned the crowd. "Nathan's by the bar, I'm guessing Hales will be dragging him home soon before he totally destroys all the work he's been doing with AA, and Nancy has found herself a new catch. I don't think we'll have to worry about giving her a ride home."

He nodded. "I'm going to go gather up Nate, and I'll meet you and Haley outside. This party is starting to annoy me."

Brooke laughed watching him go. "Just starting?" She sneered shaking her head. She made her way back over to the table where Haley was sitting.

"You didn't forget about the pregnant lady!" Haley said awed. "I was convinced I'd have to find my own way home."

"Lucas is off getting your alcoholic husband and then we're going so let's head outside."

Haley nodded. "Just think, in a month I won't even have the willpower to come to these types of parties."

Brooke snorted. "From what I saw today I don't really think you'd be missing anything."

The two women waited impatiently outside until they saw Lucas and Nathan exit the building. Lucas dragged along Nathan and threw him into the limo giving both Haley and Brooke apologetic smiles. "Somehow I think that you don't really want to see Nathan drunk." Lucas told Haley intuitively.

"Oh really?" She asked sarcastically. "What was your first clue?"

Brooke laughed and let the driver shut the door behind her. "No use snapping at Luke Hales, yell at Nathan tomorrow when he has his hangover."

Haley smiled evilly. "Rest assured I'll do a lot more than yell. Didn't he promise he'd stop with the drinking?"

Lucas nodded. "He did but Hales this is Nate we're talking about. I think you should be a little bit more understanding he just won the game."

Haley looked at him as if he had two heads. "Where did my level headed best friend go?" She asked dazed. "Did you just condone Nathan's drinking? The world must be ending."

He laughed moving Nathan's unconscious body so he wasn't lying on him. "I'm not condoning anything, I'm just giving a reason for why it happened. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow okay?"

She nodded doubtfully. "These talks don't seem to be helping."

"He has a kid on the way Hales." Brooke added. "He's not going to fuck this up. Maybe this was just a fluke."

Haley laughed loudly. "Now _that _is just wishful thinking."

* * *

The limo finally pulled up to their building around 3:30 that morning and the couple was absolutely exhausted. After watching Lucas wrestle Nathan upstairs and then talk Haley into going to sleep and not murdering her currently inebriated husband Brooke swore she would pass out from laughter. Instead, after receiving many death glares from Lucas she had waited patiently in the limo until they could make their way home. She smiled slightly to herself, she like the way that "home" sounded. It wasn't just Lucas's house anymore it was both of theirs, _together_.

"Wake up Luke, we're there." She said shaking him from his slumber. He made a noncommittal sound and buried himself deeper into the plush interior causing Brooke to laugh at his antics.

"Come on Luke, you have a perfectly capable bed upstairs. Why don't we make use of it?" She asked.

He groaned. "Are you propositioning me? Usually I'd be all over it but I'm too dead tired right now."

She smacked him lightly. "I _wasn't _propositioning you, you horny bastard. Now can we get upstairs anytime this morning? Both of us have to be at work in about 4 hours."

Lucas and Brooke made their way upstairs and stumbled into the bedroom not even bothering to change out of their party clothes. "I told you it'd be a late night." Lucas said smugly.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not the one currently falling over myself trying to get into bed."

"When are you going to sell you're apartment?" He questioned her.

"I was hoping never. What's the harm in keeping it for sentimental value?"

"Are you planning on leaving me anytime soon?" He asked genuinely worried.

She shook her head. "I'm not leaving you Luke, I just want to keep my apartment. Is that really that much of a crime?"

He propped himself up on his elbow looking at her strangely. "This conversation is serious de ja vu." He complained. "One of my ex girlfriends said the exact same thing. Three weeks later she skipped town and told me that I was too overbearing."

Brooke giggled. "Luke, you're girlfriends all have a trend of being amazingly stupid so I wouldn't look back on them as reference." She smiled at him. "I'm not going to come up missing anytime soon. I love you, and I'm not going to leave you. I want my apartment for the sake of having it. Just like you have your house in Palm Beach and your apartment in Chicago for the sake of having it. It's not really uncommon to have houses that one normally doesn't use Luke."

He sighed sleepily and gave up. "Alright…I'll leave you alone about selling."

"Thank you. Plus I think Elizabeth wants it."

"Why didn't you just say that in the first place?" He exclaimed.

She smiled kissing him gently on the nose. "Because Luke, you're cute when you're worried. Now go to sleep."

He growled playfully but complied, asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow.

TBC

A/N: Shorter chapter than usual but it's a filler. It doesn't have a point. Everyone give a big round of applause to my new beta: Teresa. –waves at her- Her first beta will be this part and coupled with the fact that I took forever to write it that would be why this part took so long to be uploaded. My apologies.


	21. Part 20

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 20**

_"To build may have to be the slow and laborious task of years. To destroy can be the thoughtless act of a single day." -Sir Winston Churchill_

Entering Promotex that day Nathan knew he was in for it. After waking up this morning on the couch with his hormonal wife yelling obscenities he had known he was in trouble. Haley had shoved him out the house with instructions to go see his brother and that had been the end of their conversation.

Now here he was most likely waiting for a tongue lashing from his brother. It had been this way ever since they had started dating. Being the perpetual mess up that he was, the minute he would do something wrong Haley would complain to Lucas or send him to Lucas so he could straighten him out. By now, it was routine and he figured if Lucas didn't see him at least once a month then his brother got even more worried than usual.

He sat down in one of his brother's office chairs and waited for him to come in. It was almost noon now so he'd be coming in for his lunch break sooner or later. He hadn't bothered to call him because it was pretty much useless to try to reach Lucas during the morning. He was most likely on the phone with some overseas client.

"Hey Nathan!" Lucas exclaimed slightly surprised to see him there. Nathan watched interested as a girl who looked almost exactly like Brooke entered the room behind him. "What are you doing here?"

"The standard discussion on why I shouldn't piss off Haley when she's angry." He said noncommittally still looking at the woman behind his brother.

Lucas shook his head amused. "Well give me a second; I have to go through this website with Eliza."

"Care to introduce me?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically. "I doubt your brother knows who I am even if I know who he is."

Lucas blushed. "Sorry! Nate this is my new web and graphic designer Elizabeth Davis, and yes she is Brooke's sister. Eliza, this is my brother Nathan Scott."

She walked over to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you, I was wondering when I'd meet the rest of the Scott family."

Nathan gave her a lopsided grin sizing her up. "And I was wondering when I'd meet _any_ of the Davis family."

"We're an elusive bunch." She quipped. "I believe you were out of town when Brookie's parents came up. You missed the opportunity." She said with mock sadness.

"Brooke's parents? Are you guy's not full sisters?" He asked.

She shook her head. "We're half sisters and I don't like to claim our mother. I just do it for Brooke's sake."

He nodded. "Understandable. Luke was like that when we were younger."

Lucas looked at the both of them and raised an eyebrow. "Hey Eliza, this won't take too long so why don't I come by your office later and view the prototype okay?"

She looked up at him unable to read his strange expression. "Whatever you say boss and it was nice meeting you Nathan."

He waved slightly. "Likewise Elizabeth."

Waiting until Elizabeth locked and closed the door behind her Lucas looked at his brother with an amused expression and said very clearly: "You're married and Eliza is off limits."

"What did I do now?" Nate asked innocently. "You're giving me the 'Nathan you're a complete asshat' look."

"You forget that I'm your brother and I know how you are." Lucas said. "If I hadn't stopped you two you would have immediately started flirting and you're not going to do that to Haley or Eliza so come off it."

Nathan rolled his eyes. "Of course oh supreme master. I don't know where you get your outrageous accusations from but I wouldn't cheat on Haley with Brooke's sister of all people."

"Just making sure little brother."

"Anyway, Haley's pissed about last night what can I do to make it better?" He asked getting to the point.

Lucas shrugged. "That's between you and Hales. I guess you can apologize and actually sound like you mean it. More than likely she's blowing it out of proportion because of her hormones so lay low until she calms down. Oh yeah, and lay off the drinking would you?"

"You got it." He answered. "Thanks bro and I'll see you later okay?"

Lucas nodded and the phone rang. "Oh god, it's Derek Smith from Canada."

"The needy tennis player?" Nathan asked.

Lucas nodded again while answering it. "This is going to take me awhile. Can you go tell my secretary to tell Eliza that I'll be at least another hour?"

"Sure bro."

Nathan made his way outside of Lucas's office and stopped in front of Angela's desk. "Hey Angie, want to direct me to Elizabeth Davis's office?"

"Of course Mr. Scott, if you would just follow me…" She trailed off standing up and walking towards the elevator.

A few minutes later Nathan was standing in Elizabeth's doorframe simply watching her and waiting to be acknowledged. He wasn't disappointed, she noticed him a couple seconds later.

"At first I was going to wonder why exactly you're in my office but then I figured with a cocky jock like yourself I wouldn't like the answer." She drawled impatiently. "How can I help you Mr. Scott?"

Nathan grinned stepping inside the office and shutting the door behind him. "I just want to get to know you a little bit better Miss Davis. Is that such a crime?"

She raised an eyebrow. "You're married to my boss's best friend. I think that's a crime."

"It's not a crime if all I want to be his friends. You do have male friends don't you? I didn't think you were that much of a nun."

She smiled at him. "You're in luck; I just stopped being a nun a couple of months ago."

He put a hand over his heart plopping into a chair. "You don't know how thankful I am!"

She giggled finally. "Alright Nathan, you want to be friends, then we'll be friends. Tell me about yourself." She requested.

"I'm 24 and I play for the New York Knicks…"

"Tell me something I wouldn't find just by searching the internet." She said interrupting him. "I don't need a profile; I want to know something special."

He pondered that for a moment before speaking again. "If I tell you this you have to promise not to repeat it to anyone." He said seriously.

She nodded eagerly urging him to continue. "Of course."

"When I was in high school I used be so jealous of Lucas. It wasn't because he was more popular or more athletic because he wasn't. Out of the two of us I was more respected in school and every coach in Florida said that my skills were more talent driven than his. I always felt inadequate to him because he was the person that was automatically given the title of 'good guy.' He was the one that you're girlfriend went to when you messed up or your parents referred to as the good example. No matter what he did he could never do any wrong in anyone's eyes." Nathan paused. "I guess I do still feel that way but I've come to understand that he doesn't make himself that way it's just how others perceive him."

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair. "I feel that way about Brookie. She's a great sister and I love her but my parents' think that the moon and sun set on her so it's a little bit annoying."

He smiled easily at her. "I knew you would understand." He shifted in his seat. "So tell me about you. You know an awful lot about me and I know next to nothing about you."

"I'm 21, I'm a graphic and web designer obviously. I'm Bookie's half sister and I never really liked my mother or stepfather. I'm eccentric and sarcastic, and I'm really down to earth."

"So Miss Davis, the graphic designer that is 21, can I take you out to lunch?"

She grinned but shook her head. "You keep forgetting you have a wife Mr. Scott."

"And you keep forgetting that it's okay for a guy to have woman friends."

"I'm sure your wife wouldn't think so. Here you are flirting with your brother's employee while she's at home waiting for you."

He laughed. "Haley's not home waiting for me, I can guarantee that."

Elizabeth smiled. "I'll let you take me out on one condition." She said finally.

He raised an eyebrow ready for her demands.

"I want to know your life story from start to finish when we get to lunch."

"Can't you just pull on your little laptop?" He joked.

"No, but I can pull up she said rolling her eyes. "Goodbye Mr. Scott, I need to get some work done if I'm going to be leaving. I'll see you around 2?"

He nodded. "See you at two then." He walked to the door but then paused. "Don't tell Luke about this okay? He's a worrier and he'll take our friendship the wrong way."

"I'm not going to lie to my boss Mr. Scott, I happen to like my job here." She said. "If this 'friendship' of ours is going to cause problems for either of us then I don't think we should pursue it."

"I didn't say lie to him, just don't offer up the information." He said smiling. "And trust me, our friendship is not going to cause any problems with anyone."

She groaned to herself as he closed her office door. "I really doubt that one." She muttered.

* * *

"My brother is married and he's having a baby Eliza." Lucas announced as he walked in her office a half hour later.

"Should I break out the champagne?" She asked sarcastically.

"This isn't a laughing matter, I know Nate came to your office after he left mine."

"Is it a crime for your brother to visit me? Am I breaking some kind of unwritten Promotex rule?"

"Eliza, stop with the attitude okay? I'm worried about my brother and I'm worried about you."

She rolled her eyes that were still firmly locked on the computer. "Is this the 'stay away from my brother if you value your job' warning?"

Lucas sat down on the edge of her desk and reached over to shut of her computer monitor so she had no choice but to listen to him. Reluctantly she drew her eyes away from the monitor to face him. "Lucas, I know he's married and I'm not a slut, I'm not going to go after him."

His face softened. "I didn't say you were a slut Eliza."

"But you're implying that I would have an affair with your brother."

"I'm not saying that either!" He exclaimed. "Look, I don't even know what I was doing coming here…"

"Glad you realized that." She snapped.

"Did he ask you out?"

"That isn't any of your business!"

"Anything that has to do with my brother is my business. Did he ask you out?" He asked again.

"He's taking me out for lunch."

His eyes narrowed and the friendly demeanor fell away as he stood up. "Haley is my best friend Eliza, you know that, and I'm not going to let you two hurt her. I know Nathan and he has never acted so blatantly attracted to someone in his life. I trust you to do the right thing and make sure this…friendship…of yours doesn't get too out of hand." He sighed. "Can you promise that for me?"

"Whatever happens…happens…" She said nonchalantly.

"Just make sure the right thing happens Eliza, I really do like the work you do here." Lucas said the threat hanging loosely in the air. He gave a quick wave and exited the room.

Elizabeth sighed heavily as the door shut behind him.

* * *

Lunch at Carraba's Italian Eatery became a three person affair when Haley showed up in tears at the Promotex office just as Lucas was about to leave.

"Hales?" He asked. "What's going on?"

She threw herself into his embrace and they stood there in the garage until she had cried herself out. "Nathan canceled on me again…it's not that big of a deal I'm just so damn emotional today." She said waving away Lucas's concern. "I'm sorry I just showed up here. I know you and Brooke usually go out for lunch…"

He cut her off, "no it's fine. I'm sure Brooke would love to see you." He opened the car door for her and then went around to his side. "So how's little Lucas doing?"

She smiled. "He's doing great, he kicked today."

"That's my little man, he's going to be a great basketball player one day."

"I'm sure you and Nathan will make sure of it." Haley said laughing. "How's work? I'm going out of my mind with boredom at the house. Ever since I took time off of work my days have been a drag."

"Not like you did much anyway, you just wrote songs all day!"

"That takes a lot of time and energy I'll have you know." She said haughtily.

They pulled onto the road that would take them to Brooke's office. "I've been meaning to ask you something." He said breaking the silence.

She looked at him expectantly. "Well? Spit it out."

"I want you to go engagement ring shopping with me."

Hazel eyes widened in fright, then surprise, and finally settled in happiness. "Oh Lucas, I'm so happy for you! When'd you decide this?"

"I don't know, a week or so ago. I figured that Brooke's the only one for me and I never want to let her go so the best way to show it is by marrying her." He smiled dreamily. "I really love her Hales."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Lucas Scott, most eligible bachelor, I thought I'd never see you get married."

"Neither did I, but like you told me when you got engaged to Nathan, you can't help it when the right person comes along and you fall in love." He said. "I remember back in college Nancy and I were drunk and knocking around my dorm when she asked me how I would know that I was ready to be married."

"What'd you tell her?" Haley asked truly interested.

"I told her that when I finally found the girl of my dreams it'd be the way she talked, the way she looked, the way she walked, and the way she looked at me. It'd be the way I can't get her off my mind and out of my heart. It'd be the longing I felt when I was without her and the joy I felt when I was with her. It'd be the feeling I got when she laughed or cried and the fluttering of my heart when she smiled." He smiled softly. "I told her it'd be the way I thought that I couldn't imagine anyone in that wedding dress, walking up that aisle, and sharing those vows with me than her."

"Lucas…that's beautiful." Haley said. "I'm so glad you finally found that person."

He nodded parking on the curb in front of Brooke's building. "So am I Hales, so am I."

**TBC**

**A/N:** Shorter than usual but I got my point across. Once again, sorry for the late posting.


	22. Part 21

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 21**

_"A relationship is like a rose, How long it lasts, no one knows; Love can erase an awful past, Love can be yours, you'll see at last; To feel that love, it makes you sigh, To have it leave, you'd rather die; You hope you've found that special rose, 'Cause you love and care for the one you chose." - Rob Cella_

They were lying down on the checkered picnic sheets in Central Park enjoying the sunny weekend. It was late afternoon, the only time both of them could get away from their families and friends long enough without any of them worrying. It had been two weeks since their meeting at Promotex and steadily but surely, their friendship was developing into something dangerous and deceitful. But even so, Nathan couldn't help but be entranced by her. She was intelligent, witty, and down to earth, but what most appealed to him was how incredibly real she was. It was something to appreciate when you're a celebrity, to find someone who looked at you and didn't see the stardom. It would have been wonderful if they could just stay friends, and he believed that it was her intention, but for him it wasn't the case. He wanted her in every sense of the word.

"Earth to Nathan, that brooding look doesn't fit you." She said smiling as she sat up. "What were you thinking about?"

He looked at her and sighed. It was about time they had this conversation. "I was thinking about you, about us, about this situation…" He started. "I have a wife." He stated as if both of them weren't already aware of the fact.

She gave him a confused smile. "I know that Nate and I'm pretty sure most of the United States and Europe know it too. What are you trying to say to me?"

Not able to form any words he shook his head in aggravation. "I'm having a beautiful little boy." He said softly. "We're naming him Lucas…did I tell you that?"

She nodded, still not understanding what he was struggling with. "Do you want to call it a day?" She asked puzzled. "You seemed stressed and I don't want to impose…"

"No!" He shouted quite alarmingly, crossing the small picnic blanket to embrace her. "I'm so confused Eliza…"

She stayed in his arms letting him hold her until he composed himself then asked quite bluntly: "what the hell is going on Nate? You're freaking out over the smallest things and you've been distant the whole time we've been here."

"I have a wife and a kid along the way Eliza, I'm a happy self-made millionaire, I have a loving family who cares enough about to put up with the bullshit I constantly pull, I have an awesome publicist that can guarantee no one ever forgets my name, and I'm probably going to be named athlete of the year." He took a breath. "So why is it that even when I'm supposed to be deliriously happy I can't help but think of you?"

She broke away from him, as if she was burned whirling around to face him. "Nathan don't even think about it. I won't be the one that causes any problems in your marriage."

He smiled sadly. "I don't think you have a choice in the matter Eliza, even if you break off this friendship between us I'll still be thinking about you, I'll still be pining after you."

"You love your wife!" She protested hotly.

He nodded. "I love my wife. Haley was the first person to look at me as Nathan Scott the person instead of Nathan Scott the son of Dan Scott."

"Then what is the problem? Why are you doing this?" She asked desperately.

"Because I doubt myself and I doubt my marriage." He said simply. "I'm so sorry for dragging you into this Eliza…but you're just bring to light problems that I knew were already there and was just to stubborn to solve on my own."

"You're an idiot." She said.

He gave her a lopsided smile. "I'm always the first one to admit that."

"What exactly did this heart to heart have to do with me?" She asked.

"I need time to think about this, and when I'm done I still want you to be here." He requested honestly.

She laughed hollowly. "I'll be here Nate, as stupid and desperate as that makes me, I'll be here waiting for you because you're my friend."

"You don't think of me as anything else?"

"Of course I do you egotistical jerkwad! You're damn gorgeous and sweet and caring…but I can't act on my feelings and I won't act on my feelings and neither will you because after all is said and done _you'll still be with your wife_!" She spat.

He pressed an insistent kiss to her lips only to have her break it, eyes filling with tears. "I already said I wouldn't become the other woman. That still stands no matter how I feel about you." She said breathlessly.

"I understand." He murmured.

"Do you? Do you really?" She asked. "Then why is it that you insist on kissing me when you just told me that you need time and space!"

"I don't know…"

She stood up gathering her belongings to Nathan's surprise. "Where are you going?" He asked.

She looked at him as if he was the dumbest person on the earth, and truthfully that's exactly what she was thinking. "I'm going to leave and go back home." She said quite plainly. "And you're going to stop calling me, emailing me, text messaging me, and visiting me until you figure out what in hell you're going to do with you're wife. I refuse to be led on and I refuse to be some other women you can get with whenever it's convenient. I'm not some side dish that's going to be available for stress relief. If and when you come to the decision that you're going to stay with your wife, because I have no doubt that will be the case, I will gladly resume being your friend."

His mouth dropped open surprised written across his face. "Eliza…!"

"Goodbye Nathan." She tossed him a business card that she had been searching for in her purse. "One of my best friends is a marriage counselor, maybe you should consider it."

And with that, she walked off. Elizabeth Davis, if anything was a proud woman and if she had learned anything from her sorry excuse for her mother it was that you never compromised your pride and dignity for _no one_.

* * *

It was night time now and for once the gang wasn't at one of the popular restaurants in New York or at the office. Instead Haley, Brook, Nathan, Nancy, and Lucas were hanging out in Lucas's large penthouse nursing glasses of wine and plates of Brooke's specialty: lasagna.

"Brooke that was amazing." Nancy said positively stuffed. "Why didn't you open up a restaurant instead of starting a magazine? I'm sure you would have made more money."

Brooke arched an eyebrow and giggled at Nancy's antics. "In my next lifetime I'll be sure to heed your advice Nance, until then I'll stick to writing."

"We should go on a vacation." Haley said suddenly.

Lucas looked at her strangely while tightening his grip around Brooke's waist. "Hales…not everyone is off work like you are."

She rolled her eyes. "It's not like you can't take a couple of days off work." She replied. "And Nathan can as well since basketball season is over and Brooke you're senior editor, you can make your own hours!"

"Hales do you need a vacation that bad?" Nancy asked.

"Yes!"

"I think the baby's getting to her." Nathan said smiling as he wrapped his arm more securely around his wife.

"It is not that you jerk!" She said hitting him playfully.

Lucas smiled at his friends and then got up, an odd look on his face. "Hey where you going?" Brooke asked him.

"To get something that I'll think you like." He said.

Everyone stopped their conversations to watch the couple. The trio hadn't seen that twinkle in Lucas's eye before, and now that they had they were interested. Haley smiled knowingly, this was the reason that Lucas had invited everyone over that night. Lucas slipped into the back room and came back with an object in his pocket before giving an appraising glance around the room and dropping to one knee in front of Brooke.

The reaction to that was almost unanimous. Everyone's jaw dropped—hard.

"Luke?" Brooke whispered.

He smiled up at her and took a deep breath. "Two weeks ago I had a revelation." He started. "I finally realized that there is no one in the world that is better suited for me, I was never going to want to give you up, and I could imagine us 10 years from now rehashing our relationship to our kids. It seemed like after all the psycho girlfriends, the problems with work, and losing faith in ever falling I love I met my match and just happened to stumble upon my soul mate at the same time. You're the only woman I've ever dated that has matched me in personality, understood my hectic job, bonded so closely with my family and friends, and stuck with me when it was clear that you should have walked away."

Brooke was crying silently. Words couldn't express what she was feeling right now.

Lucas struggled to keep the tears back as he continued. "When I asked Haley to go ring shopping with me two weeks ago I told her a story about a question Nancy asked me in college…"

"I asked you when you would be able to tell you were ready for marriage." Nancy contributed softly.

He nodded. "I told her that when I finally found the girl of my dreams it'd be the way she talked, the way she looked, the way she walked, and the way she looked at me. It'd be the way I can't get her off my mind and out of my heart. It'd be the longing I felt when I was without her and the joy I felt when I was with her. It'd be the feeling I got when she laughed or cried and the fluttering of my heart when she smiled." He smiled softly. "I told her it'd be the way I thought that I couldn't imagine anyone in that wedding dress, walking up that aisle, and sharing those vows with me than her." (**A/N:** Yep, direct quote from last chapter)

He took another deep breath. "So I guess what I'm trying to say here and I guess all of you know this is: Brooke Davis, the light of my life, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Brooke let out a choked out sob and launched herself into his arms successfully knocking him to the floor. "Yes you dork! Did you think I'd say anything else?" She said laughing. "I love you so much."

"WOO!" Nathan shouted as Lucas slipped the platinum diamond encrusted engagement ring on her finger. "Little brother is finally getting hitched!"

Brooke scrambled off of him and the three girls went into the kitchen to examine the ring.

"Women!" Nathan cracked shaking his head at them. Lucas leaned back in his seat a content look on his face.

"Well I don't think this day can get any better." He said sighing happily.

* * *

It was almost midnight when Nancy left Lucas's penthouse. She was truly happy for her best friend. He had been so unhappy for such a long time, and as soon as he had met Brooke everything had gotten a lot better for him. She had to admit she didn't like Brooke at first, but the woman had grown on her. If Brooke was a little bit braver they would have been carbon copies because Brooke was ridiculously sarcastic and catty when provoked.

Sighing, Nancy hailed a cab and was stunned out of her thoughts as her cell phone rang. "Nancy McAllister speaking, how may I help you?" She answered automatically.

"You're Nathan Scott, the basketball player's publicist right?" The voice asked.

"This is Nancy McAllister, general publicist of Promotex Sports, _how may I help you_?" She asked again agitated. It was twelve in the morning and for some odd reason one of Nathan's many fans was bothering her. How nice.

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

She sighed impatiently. "I take it you have some important information to tell me otherwise you wouldn't be wasting my time so late at night."

"Mr. Scott is married isn't he?"

"Do you enjoy asking stupid questions? Yes he is married." Nancy answered irritated. "Is this conversation going anywhere? And anyway, _who are you_?"

"Who I am is of no use to you, but the information I can easily leak to the media is."

"So what exactly do you know?"

"I know that Mr. Scott has been spending an awful lot of time with a young woman named Elizabeth Davis."

"So what they're friends." Nancy said immediately dismissing the implications.

"If that's what you want to call them Ms. McAllister, but the photo evidence I have says otherwise." The caller said smugly. "I just wanted to give you a heads up though, I'm sure you'll hear the rest of the story about these so called 'friends' in US Weekly Monday morning."

"If you already sent this story of yours to US Weekly why did you call me?"

"I figured since you're a friend of the family you'd break the news to Mrs. Scott before she heard it on the street corner. Good night Ms. McAllister, I hope I don't cause too much trouble within the family."

The call disconnected just as the cab pulled up in front of Nancy's apartment building. Inwardly, Nancy let out a long string of curses.

Shit just had to hit the fan when she was about to ask for a vacation.

**TBC**

**A/N:** Another short chapter and a long time since I've posted. I'm very sorry for both! For the sake of the story I'm going to try to set a time frame. I've noticed I've been a little vague with the timing that this story takes place. So bare with me as I try to set up a little timeline.

Winter (Around December) – Brooke & Lucas meet.

February – The trip to and from Florida.

May – Starting from Part 20 on…

The point of me setting up the time is to explain why Lucas really isn't rushing into marrying Brooke. According to my now made up timeline, they've been together for about 6 months.


	23. Part 22

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 22**

**Warning: Language!**

_"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope." – Martin Luther King Jr._

_"Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names." – John F. Kennedy_

It was Monday morning and things were definitely not looking up for Elizabeth Davis. Going to work she had been stopped repeatedly by random reporters, people on the street, and admirers who all had the same goal in mind: to bug the hell out of her, or at least driver her mildly crazy. She hadn't known what they were going on about until one of the people had shoved a paper in her face. There in US Weekly in bold black letters was the headline "FAMOUS BASKETBALL PLAYER'S MISTRESS REVEALED." Elizabeth thought she'd be sick as she flipped to the cover story and saw picture after picture of dates she and Nathan had gone on before she had told him to back off.

If only she had done it sooner.

Trying hard not to burst into tears she made her way to her office where she knew a very pissed Lucas would be waiting for her. Needless to say, she wasn't surprised to see him sitting in on the edge of her desk waiting for her.

"Hello Lucas…" She murmured softly. "Come to help me pack?" She asked.

He looked at her confused. "Why would I do that Eliza?"

"I'm your brother's 'mistress' and you made it quite clear before any of this started that you wouldn't tolerate me fucking with Haley's marriage. Well guess what I blew it all to hell." She said impassively.

"I'm not here to fire you; I know that you broke things off with Nate before any of this came out." He sighed. "Nancy called me early this morning, some freak called her on Saturday saying that he was going to spread this to US Weekly. She tried her best to suppress this but you know Us Weekly, they wouldn't give up the story of the year."

She dropped her head in her hands. "I care about your brother and I care about you Luke, I wouldn't hurt your family on your purpose! I didn't want to hurt your family! I never meant for this to happen!" She cried.

He hopped off the desk and went to hug her. "I know you didn't mean it and you didn't hurt my family Eliza."

"How's Haley?" She asked ignoring his obviously untrue statement. "She probably thinks I'm some whore."

Lucas got a faraway look in his eyes before answering her. "Haley's taking this surprising well. I think it's because she's been mentally preparing herself for this for a long time." He said.

She looked up at him in surprise. "What? That's some crazy defense mechanisms she's got going on there."

He shrugged. "As much as I try to play mediator with their marriage I don't try to pretend their relationship. It's never been a particularly stable one; they've always been very different. It was sheer willpower that was keeping them going." He gave her a sad smile. "With Nathan meeting you and falling for you that willpower wasn't needed anymore and their marriage just started deteriorating faster."

"I wish I didn't have to be the catalyst." She said bitterly. "So what's going to happen between them?"

Lucas shrugged again. "Anything can happen, those two are very unpredictable. It'll be a miracle if they stay together."

"What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know." Lucas said thoughtfully. "But I hope—and this may sound strange—that they get a divorce."

She stared at him, eyes wide in surprise. "I figured you'd be pushing them back together."

"I've been doing that for a long time Eliza, for as long as I could remember I've been the driving force in their relationship. Whenever they had a problem, and damn it was often, I'd make sure everything was better again. Maybe that's what went wrong you know? I never let them have a chance to work out their problems on their _own_, I always stepped in for them so they wouldn't have to see the part of the other that they hated."

"It's your maternal instincts." Elizabeth joked. "You like to mother people."

That brought a smile to his face. "Thanks Eliza."

She nodded. "You look like your world is falling apart, I thought I was the one that needed the cheering up."

"It's just that…Nate and Haley's relationship have been such a constant in my life, it's going to be strange not seeing them together."

"You'll get used it, plus you'll be so occupied with the wedding that you won't even think about it most of the time."

He gave her a pensive look before brightening slightly. "Even if my best friend and brother are going to get a divorce and going to put their lives through hell I'm glad that Nate has you Eliza."

Lucas was really surprising her today. She raised an eyebrow but didn't answer him. "You're good for him. Haley may have changed him into the man he is today, but she obviously wasn't meant to be on the receiving end of it and you are. When all this is done and over with I'll bet we'll all look back on this and laugh."

"Your eternal optimism scares me Luke."

He got up making his way to the door. "Yeah, I get that a lot. Brooke might be coming by for lunch to talk to you."

"Lovely, I'm sure Brooke's going to be furious. She's not as level-headed and calm as you are Luke."

He grinned. "I know, that's why I didn't yell at you. What's the use in me doing it when I know Brooke can do it better?"

He shut the door quickly as she launched her shoe at him.

* * *

Haley sat listlessly on their window seat looking down at the city. She was stunned. Her mind was blank, her heart was cold, and everything felt numb. Blissfully numb. She didn't think she could take it if she acknowledged the pain she was feeling.

"Haley please say something." Nathan pleaded. "You're so quiet…and it's freaking me out."

"What do you want me to say?" She asked blankly.

"I don't know what I want you to say! I just want you to have some type of emotion, some type of reaction!"

She smiled slightly. "I don't know whether I should be pissed off, sad, or something else." She admitted.

He looked down at his hands.

"Would you have ever told me if Us Weekly hadn't gotten a hold of the news?"

He nodded. "I took Elizabeth to the park one day a couple days ago and she broke it off. Told me that I needed to get my act together and figure out what I wanted with my life."

"I guess I can see what you decided." Haley said bitterly. "Looks like our family isn't important enough."

"My family will always be important to me Haley. When little Luke is born I'll be in his life every step of the way, he will never think that I don't love him." He said fiercely.

A tear slipped down her cheek. "Well at least that's settled." She rested her head one the window pane. "Why don't you love me anymore?" She asked softly.

Nathan closed his eyes painfully. "I love you Haley, I always will love you. You're my first love, the woman who changed me, the mother of my child, but we've been growing apart for so long. You noticed it Hales, don't deny it. You were always out touring; I'm always away at basketball games. We're two different people."

She nodded. "Then this was inevitable wasn't it?"

"Yes Hales…it was."

"Do you love Elizabeth?" She asked.

"Don't do this Hales…"

"Is that a yes?"

"I care about her a lot."

"So you're throwing away your marriage for a girl you don't even love. You're amazing Nathan Scott." Haley laughed coldly. "Fucking amazing."

"I'm taking a chance, yes, and if you find that foolish I can't and won't change your mind."

"I should call the lawyers then." Haley decided. "Get the papers drawn up and set us a court date for the custody hearing."

"Yes." He got up. "I'll pack a bag and be out of here by lunch."

"Going to live with your mistress?" She asked. She couldn't help it.

He stared at her. "No, my penthouse."

She blushed, embarrassed. "Alright."

"I'm sorry Hales."

She looked at him. "Yeah, me too."

* * *

Elizabeth came back from her one hour lunch to see Brooke waiting for her and inwardly she groaned. "Let's get on with it Brookie." She said tiredly.

Brooke held up the newspaper that was lying on her desk. "Are you proud of this?" She asked. "Because I sure don't see a lot of remorse on your face."

Elizabeth stayed by the door but closed it so anyone passing by wouldn't get it on their screaming match she knew was about to happen. Brooke had a way of automatically putting her on the defense. "What the hell Brooke! What do you want me to do? Walk around all day with a frown on my face wearing black?" She yelled. "Nathan likes me, oh my god big damn deal! People get divorces all the time Brooke!"

"Not Haley and Nathan! If you hadn't come along and messed everything up they wouldn't be getting a divorce right now!" Brooke insisted.

Elizabeth let out a harsh bark of laughter. "Brookie you're seriously delusional. Those two were having problems before I came along because if they were really all that great together why is it that Nathan was pursuing me? I wasn't the running after him Brookie, he was doing all the chasing."

Brooke looked at her with wide eyes. "I didn't know that." Brooke murmured softly.

"Of course you didn't because you didn't bother to even ask! You've been so wrapped up in your new life with your new friends you don't even give you own sister the benefit of the doubt!" Elizabeth was breathing hard now, obviously aggravated.

Brooke at least looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm sorry Eliza…but you know I just thought the worse…I don't want you to get hurt."

Elizabeth snorted. "Right, I'm sure. That's why you came here yelling at me on your high horse. Please Brookie save that garbage for someone who's a lot stupider than me."

"I really am sorry…"

"Save it Brookie…this has not been a good day and you're just making it worse." Eliza said sighing.

"Has everyone been really nasty to you?"

"Between the dirty looks I got on the street, the phone calls from Nathan's fans, and random family members coming to chew me out I starting to think Nathan Scott isn't worth all the trouble."

"I was hoping that wouldn't happen." The smooth baritone voice said from the door. Elizabeth jumped and whirled around from her stance to see Nathan standing in the now open door.

"Didn't I lock that damn door?" She grumbled.

He quirked an eyebrow. "Luke gave me a key." His eyes made their way over to Brooke who was giving him a disapproving glare. "Brooke, stop with the self righteous act."

"Nathan you're divorcing your pregnant wife to date MY YOUNGER SISTER, I have a right to be slightly pissed about that!"

He snorted. "Brooke, I think my brother wants to see you. Something about a court date or something." He said.

"Don't you dare dismiss me you oaf!" She shouted.

"BROOKE!" Elizabeth finally shouted. "I'm fine okay? Go visit your fiancé and get all lovey-dovey or something!" She growled.

The two sisters stared at each other before Brooke huffed loudly and stormed out of the room.

"Sorry about that…" She said slightly uncomfortable now that they were alone. "How was Haley?"

He sighed running a hand through his short black hair. "Pissed, sad, numb…I don't know how to explain it."

"So…" She sighed. "This is stupid."

He grinned. "I was wondering if you would go out with me tonight."

She glared at him. "Talk to me once you're divorce has gone through."

His smiled just grew larger. "I'm already divorced in my heart Eliza, isn't that what truly matters? A divorce is just paper."

She looked at him suspiciously. "Wouldn't it be stupid for us to go out when the papers are just waiting for you to slip up and be seen with your 'mistress'?"

"I don't care Eliza…I'm not ashamed of my feelings for you. Are you?"

"Of course not…I just don't want to be viewed as the hateful whore who ruined New York's favorite married man's marriage." She said bitterly.

He watched her silently, eyes sad before answering. "Eliza…I want to explore what we have…I know that it'll be hard because of my status here in New York…but please just give this a shot." He pleaded softly.

"Alright…" She said sighing. "I'm such an idiot." She added as an after thought.

He smiled. "Hopefully you'll be my idiot sometime soon."

* * *

Brooke met a nervous Lucas outside of the courthouse later that day. He was going to be a character witness for Nicole, and with this act he'd be severing any chance at becoming friends with Jake again. Even Brooke was at risk though she was there on the guise she was supporting her two best friends Jake and Peyton.

"Have you talked to Nikki yet?" She asked as they walked inside.

"Yeah, she and Serena were here an hour early. Nikki's lawyer is pretty confident that they're going to get the joint custody."

Brooke nodded. "Nikki's a good person, I'm sure she'll get it."

"Brooke! It's good to see you! I didn't think that you'd show up!" Peyton said happily, hugging her best friend. "And you brought Lucas as well! Thank you for coming!"

Lucas shuffled his feet uncomfortable before answering. "I'm actually here because I'm testifying as a character witness."

Peyton looked confused. "I don't remember our lawyer saying that he was calling upon you…and frankly I don't think that makes much sense, you haven't spoken to Jake in ages."

"That's because I'm not testifying on your behalf." Lucas replied.

Her eyes widened in understanding before darkening. "So then you're here to support Lucas?" Peyton asked.

Brooke sighed. "Peyt, I'm here for you okay? Stop freaking out."

Peyton smiled gratefully. "I'm sorry, I'm at my wits end right now."

Jake came up behind Peyton blatantly ignoring both Lucas and Brooke. "They're about to start, we should be going in now." He informed her.

Lucas rolled his eyes at Jake's rudeness. "That is why I wasn't going to ever testify in his behalf." He muttered.

Brooke squeezed his hand and they went inside. It took a while before Lucas was actually called to the stand and after being sworn in, Nikki's lawyer took his time before beginning his round of questioning. (**A/N:** I may be in Law Studies right now, but I won't even pretend I know how a real custody hearing goes so don't bash too badly on the court scene.)

"Mr. Scott, how long have you known Ms. Green?" He asked.

"I've known her since high school, so about 8 years."

"And in those 8 years how did Ms. Green act?"

"Do you mean personality wise or things she actually did?" Lucas asked confused.

"Both, if you would be so kind."

"Well when I first met Nikki she was what you'd call a wild child. Actually all of our friends were like that since when you grow up in a rich family there weren't really any boundaries placed on you. Nikki was a free spirit and she was one of my good friends."

"So when is it that her behavior started to change?" The lawyer asked interrupting Lucas.

"When Jake and Nikki got together all of us were a little surprised. They weren't exactly the 'ideal' couple. Jake was down to earth and in high school terms 'not on the same caliber' as us and Nikki was well…an airhead. When she got pregnant she was bitter and angry at Jake basically saying it was his entire fault for everything. Then when she had Jenny she abandoned her. Only returning to terrorize Jake's life for a couple of weeks and then take off again."

"What do you mean by take off? Where would she go?" The lawyer prodded.

"When Nikki's parents learned that she wasn't going to give the baby up for adoption for have an abortion they sent her to boarding school immediately after Jenny was born. She came back whenever she was on break or something. After awhile Jake got sick of it, and Nikki got accepted to UM so I guess they drifted apart."

"And when did you happen to run into Ms. Green again?"

"I had been having some health problems and I decided that I would go down to Florida to see my parents. I invited along my girlfriend—now fiancée—and some of my friends including Jake and Peyton. Nikki sought us out after hearing from Serena Mills that Jake was in town."

"What happened to make you change your feelings towards Ms. Green?"

Lucas locked eyes with Nikki before he spoke. "It was 6 years ago that I had seen Nikki act like that, I figured that people can and do change. Especially when situations change and new opportunities open up for them. I can relate to it myself because I've change a lot as well. When Nikki approached us in the hotel that day I knew that she wasn't the same air headed, vindictive, life-wrecker that she had been before. She had matured into someone that wanted to be apart of her child's life and couldn't have that chance because her daughters current providers weren't giving her the time of day. I said I'd give my support to her because Jenny shouldn't have to grow up without ever knowing her biological mother."

"So you would recommend that Ms. Green receive joint custody of Jenny?"

"Yes I would, she's not a danger to Jenny or anyone else. It would only be doing Jenny good to have one more person who cares for her as deeply as Peyton and Jake do."

The lawyer smiled, obviously pleased with Luke's testimony. "Thank you Mr. Scott, no further questions."

After being cross-examined by Jake's attorney Lucas was allowed to step down from the witness stand and he crossed the room to sit by Brooke.

"That was grueling…" He whispered.

She grinned before kissing him quickly. "You did wonderful."

After almost an hour of deliberations the jury was ready to read his verdict.

"I find…" He started off. "That Mr. Jagielski has had in the past a reason to doubt Ms. Green's actions, but from the testimony I heard today and a review of how Ms. Green has been living her life the past few years I do not see any reason why Ms. Green should not be allowed to see her daughter. With that said, I am granting Ms. Green joint custody of her child. A trial date will be set later on this month to work out exactly how this will work. Thank you all for being here."

**TBC**


	24. Author's Note

**ON HIATUS!**

So who didn't see this one coming? I haven't even updated this story in a month. After school practically massacred any creativity I had left I want a little time to recuperate and get back ideas before I start this story up again. I don't want to start posting half-assed chapters because that's not me. So you guys don't give up on me, this story will be completed. Look for a new chapter up in early June. In the meantime, why don't you check out my new story: You're All That I Want?

Love, Sari

P.S. I loved the reviews for the last part you guys keep me going and I'm so glad that I can be a source of inspiration for some of you! If I can entertain just one person then that means that my job has been completed. Thank you guys for supporting and loving this story!


	25. Part 23

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 23**

_"Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up." - Anon._

Lucas stifled a yawn as the wedding planner walked them through the area where their reception would be held. Not that planning his wedding wasn't interesting, it was just that he felt like this was something he would pay the money for and Brooke would run wild with, leaving him to his own devices—like work. Brooke had insisted on his presence though, saying that she wouldn't have a marriage where he threw money at her and she did what she wanted. They would do everything together, even miniscule things like deciding whether to use dining room A or dining room B for the reception.

"Okay then!" Jenny, the wedding planner chattered on happily. "We'll be using dining room B for the reception then?" She asked.

Brooke nodded. "Dining room B has larger windows and it'd be perfect for lighting."

"I agree!" The woman squealed. "Ms. Davis you have SUCH good taste! Mr. Scott you are lucky to have grabbed this one!"

He flashed her a weak smile. "I know, I'm constantly reminded."

"Alright, so I'm going to go clear this with the hotel manager and then I'll be right with you!" She exclaimed. "Why don't you look over the menus I gave you and we can tackle food!"

Lucas rolled his eyes and Brooke grinned. "We'll do that Jenny."

Lucas watched her walk off before turning to his fiancée. "What possessed us to hire that perky of a person to be a wedding planner?" He asked irritated. "Her voice sounds like fingernails on chalkboard."

Brooke snorted. "This is probably the first time you've been in a room with her for more than five minutes."

"And for good reason too, the woman would drive me nuts! How do you put up with her?"

"I put up with her because she's damn good at what she does and I'm going to have my wedding perfect." Brooke said.

He smiled. "Of course we're going to have the perfect wedding, you'll be there."

She rolled her eyes but still smiled at him. "I thought it'd never happen, but it seems like compliment wielding Lucas has returned!"

"You know it." He replied cheekily. "My beautiful bride brings out the best in me."

She giggled. "Menus, Mr. Scott. I saw you glancing at your watch the whole time Jenny was talking and you can just get it out of your mind that you'll be leaving here before we get at least half of this stuff done."

"Brooooke!" He whined. "I have to get back to the office and finish with my client calls or I'll be stuck there until god knows when."

"I guess you'll just be working late tonight." Brooke said. "Now, for the appetizer which looks better?"

He groaned. "They all look great, why don't you just pick one?"

"Lucas Scott!" Brooke scolded. "You are going to act like you're somewhat interested in what is going on with this wedding or you'll be sleeping on the couch until we're married!"

He sighed. "Brooke, I'm no good at this stuff, you're a whole lot better at it than I am. I don't even know why I have to be here. Even if I do pick something you immediately say it doesn't match and pick something else."

"That's not true!" She protested.

He raised an eyebrow and started listing examples. "You chose this hotel when I suggested one downtown, you chose this wedding planner although Nancy had already found one, and you've been picking everything since then."

"Okay so maybe that's true but I still want you here for moral support."

He smirked. "You have all the support you need, the support of my credit card."

"Lucas Scott! You're making me sound like a gold digger!"

"If the shoe fits…"

She launched one of the menus she was holding at his head. "You're an idiot."

"But you still love me." He said arrogantly.

She rolled her eyes. "Unfortunately." She flipped through some more menu options before sighing. "If you want to leave Luke you can, I can handle this."

"You want me to stay so I'll stay."

"I don't want to keep you here if this isn't important to you."

He watched her carefully noting how closed off her face looked. "Brooke, I'm not saying that this isn't important to me. Of course this wedding is important to me because you're the one I'm marrying. I have never been the one for patience or color coordinating or dealing with annoying wedding planners who act like their high on helium."

She giggled.

"I love you and I want this to be the wedding of your dreams. I'll agree to anything as long as you're walking down the aisle and saying 'I Do' in the end."

The wedding planner chose to make an appearance at this point. "So how are we doing? Are the menus turning out to be something you want?"

Brooke smiled. "Yes, I love the options on menu number 2, is there anyway we'll be able to taste test these?"

Jenny nodded. "I'll set up a date and time when you can do that." Jenny flipped through her notes. "Well, the hotel has you booked for August 6th and I've called the church to confirm that date as well."

"Thank you!" Brooke said beaming. Everything was falling into place.

"Have you found what dress you're going to be wearing?" She asked eagerly.

Brooke shook her head. "I'm going dress shopping this afternoon, but I might end up getting one made."

"Well, how about I write down some good stores I know here in New York?" She offered.

"That'd be wonderful."

Lucas watched Jenny flip through an address book and then jot down addresses and phone numbers for the better part of five minutes before he got bored. "So are we finished here?" He asked.

Jenny smiled. "We're done! I call you when I figure out a date for the taste testing."

Brooke smacked him in the arm. "Thank you Jenny, you've been wonderful."

"So have you Miss Davis, I'll see you soon Mr. Scott!"

Lucas snorted and waved. "What exactly has her so happy?" He grumbled.

Brooke giggled again. "Probably all the money we're paying her."

* * *

Nathan and his lawyer sat across from Haley and her lawyer in a conference room overlooking the New York streets. They had just arrived for their second meeting of negotiating. Nathan had a feeling Haley was dragging along the proceedings because he hadn't argued with any pf her demands, but there was nothing he could do about it if she continued to demand more and more things.

"I think that Mr. Scott has been very fair to you Mrs. Scott." His lawyer started. "We have already agreed to give you the current apartment you're staying in as well as the vacation home in California. You're going to receive a sizeable alimony and when the child is born a sizeable child support. May I ask why it that we've been called here again?"

"Mrs. Scott wants to discuss what will happen when the baby arrives. Her due date is in less than two months."

"What do you mean 'what will happen?'" Nathan asked. "I'm going to be apart of my child's life from the hospital room to his first day of college and every day in between."

"If you're not too busy with Elizabeth that is." Haley growled.

He rolled his eyes and looked at his lawyer. "Do you seriously want to discuss visitation before the baby is even born?" the lawyer asked.

"No better time than the present." Haley's lawyer quipped.

"I want full visitation." Nathan said. "I don't plan on moving from New York and I seriously doubt Haley does either so it's not like he'll have to travel some large distance just to see either of us."

"I think that's the best method of action." Nathan's lawyer chimed in. "Any other requests would be unreasonable, Mr. Scott has not shown any behaviors that would jeopardize this child's life."

"Are you kidding me?" Haley asked laughing. "Don't you see his pictures plastered all over the magazines almost every day? Nathan here is the party boy of New York and everyone knows it."

"So you're not agreeing to grant full visitation?" Nathan's lawyer confirmed.

"He'll have to take me to court if he wants that." Haley said.

Nathan stared at her as if she was a totally different person. He figured whoever said a woman scorned wasn't the best thing to have after you had been absolutely right. Haley wasn't acting like her usual level-headed self. She was acting vindictive and down right bitchy—for lack of a better word.

He shrugged. "Hales, I don't know what's gotten into you but if that's what you want then so be it. I'll see you in court."

He got up and said goodbye to his lawyer with a promise to call him later before going down to his car and sitting it. Shaking his head slowly he pulled out his cell phone and punched in the now familiar number.

"Hello, this is Elizabeth Davis." She answered briskly.

"Hey, it's me."

"How did the meeting go?" She asked.

"Like I expected it to." He said sighing. "She wants to take me to court over custody issues, but everything else has been settled."

"So you're officially divorced?"

"Not yet, the divorce papers are going to be sent to us and once they're processed I'm a free man."

"We'll have to go out to celebrate." Elizabeth said slyly. "I know this great place in Manhattan."

He nodded. "We can do that." He started his car now that he felt calmer than he did before. "So do you feel up to eating dinner with Brooke and Lucas?"

"Is this one of those Friday dinners you guys like to have?" She asked.

"Yeah"

"Then I'll decline. I'm pretty sure I've heard Brooke say that it's usually you, Haley, Lucas, Brooke, and Nancy that attend them so I'm not going to go in Haley's place. I'm not comfortable enough to do that."

He sighed. "I always knew if Haley and I every broke up things would be awkward."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah me too."

"I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Alright, bye Eliza."

Nathan sighed, staring at his phone and then dialed his brother's number. He smiled as his usually soft spoken brother cursed and answered with a breathless "Hello."

"Did I interrupt something?" Nathan asked amused.

"Left my phone in the car and I was going back to get it when it started ringing. I'm expecting a call from some big shot lawyer." Lucas answered. "So what's up?"

"Haley wants to take me to court for custody of Lucas." Nathan said.

His brother gave a low whistle. "You want me to talk to her?"

"Please, anything that will stop this from going on." He sighed. "She's taking this badly."

"Of course she is you asshole, you're divorcing her." Lucas said chuckling. "I'm sure it's a shock to her system to go from power couple to a pair of bitter, angry ex-lovers. Give her some time, and I'll talk to her as well. You two will get past this."

"I'm hoping so, but I don't think she'll ever like Elizabeth."

"You plan on staying with her that long?"

Nathan smiled. "Yeah man, its crazy you know. A couple months ago I was fine with Haley but Eliza just blew me away. I'm going to try my hardest to make this long term."

"Then good luck to you bro. I'll see you tonight though, my call just came in."

* * *

Brooke sat in Peyton's apartment watching her friend pack an overnight bag for Jenny. Jake was nowhere to be found and Peyton had called her over for moral support.

"You know I shouldn't be this emotional about it." Peyton rationalized. "You're my best friend and I trust your judgment but I can't get over the fact that it's Nikki. The witch I've been hearing about ever since I met Jake."

"Jake made her seem as if she was the devil incarnate Peyt, she's not like that. I may not have known her for long but Luke has and even he's said that she's made a drastic change."

Peyton nodded. "Of course, I know that I'm just acting silly."

"Maybe you should suggest that all three of you go somewhere before Nikki takes her. Just so you can see for yourself that she's not the devil dressed in prada." Brooke said. "It'll help settle your nerves and you won't be such a mess every time it's time for Jenny to go with her."

"That's a great idea, why did I think of that?"

"Because you're too busy panicking." Brooke said giving her friend a lopsided smile. "Where is Jenny anyway? She's usually attacking me by now."

"Taking a nap." She replied distracted. "So how's the wedding coming along?"

A genuine smile spread across Brooke's face. "Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. Luke hates our wedding planner but she's an expert at what she does." Brooke suddenly looked doubtful. "I know Jake isn't too happy with Lucas right now for testifying but is he still going to come to the wedding? They have two months to make up…but you know men they won't come to terms with anything."

"We're coming Brooke." Peyton said firmly. "Jake owes you too much not to come, and I'll make sure he acts decent."

"In that case, can I ask you a question?" Brooke asked.

"You already did but go ahead."

"Would you like to be my maiden of honor?" She asked.

Peyton's jaw dropped and her eyes filled with tears. "Of course! I wouldn't have it any other way." She brushed away the tears and looked at her best friend. "I'm so glad everything is working out for you Brooke."

"Me too Peyt, I think it's about time I got my life on the right track."

**TBC**

**A/N: **I'm back! Review please!


	26. Part 24

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 24**

**Warning: Language!**

_"Holding anger is a poison. It eats you from inside. We think that hating is a weapon that attacks the person who harmed us. But hatred is a curved blade. And the harms we do, we do to ourselves." - Mitch Albom, The Five People You Meet in Heaven_**  
**

Elizabeth made her way to her office knowing that once again, this day was going to be bad. It was pouring outside and she had been utterly soaked, she had been followed once again by the paparazzi, and she was late. Horribly late. Taking away time from the website she needed to be building for another sports team Lucas had assigned her—the third assignment of that kind this week.

She sighed, her office door was open and she didn't want to deal with Lucas this morning. He'd probably demand an example of what she'd been working on and truthfully, she hadn't been working on much of anything.

"Lucas…can you come back for…" Elizabeth stopped talking when she recognized the face of New York City's most adored singer.

Yeah, her day was definitely not going good.

"I'm not Lucas." Haley said coolly.

"Oh trust me, I noticed. You would be the scorned soon to be ex-wife Haley James-Scott. We never got a chance to actually be introduced did we? I'm Elizabeth Davis." She said as she crossed the room over to her desk. "So don't get me wrong it's wonderful to meet you…I'm actually a big fan of your music but why exactly are you here?"

"I figured it'd be worthwhile to actually meet with the woman—excuse me little girl—that my husband left me for."

Elizabeth's eyes narrowed. "I don't have the time or the patience to fight with you. You want to blame someone for your ruined marriage? Blame yourself or Nathan. I had nothing to do with it."

She could tell that Haley was fighting the tears so she softened her tone. "Look, I'm sorry okay? It's shitty the way your marriage ended. You and Nathan have child coming and it sucks that he's not going to be there to support you like a husband would but I didn't wish that on you. I didn't start working here or start being friends with Nathan for the sole purpose of hurting you or that child. When I gave him that ultimatum I didn't expect to come out the victor."

Haley watched her in silence, and then spoke up a few minutes later her voice quiet and a faraway look in her eyes. "Do you think it's pathetic that I thought this baby would save our marriage?" She asked her.

Elizabeth closed her eyes tightly; she didn't want to witness this. "No."

"I thought that with a baby on the way Nathan would be forced to become the model husband again. That he would stop the drinking, the partying, all the away games and just focus on us. And it worked, for at least a little while, and we were once again the model family of New York." She said, teary brown eyes gazing into Elizabeth's pained blue ones.

"Who would have thought all you had to do was pay him a little bit of attention and he'd immediately change it all for you?" Haley laughed bitterly. "I wonder where the hell I went wrong."

"Don't compare yourself to me, it's not worth it." Elizabeth said softly. "Why are you here Haley? Is this making you feel better?"

Sad eyes instantly turned angry. "Closure." She spat. "I thought it'd be good for me to try to make amends."

"Is it working?"

Haley laughed bitterly. "Not really, but I'll have to force it won't I? It's not like you're going anywhere. You're Brooke's sister for fuck's sake."

"Yes, sometimes I hate that fact as well." Eliza deadpanned.

"What the…well this is awkward." Nathan said from the door directly behind him stood Lucas looking just as surprised as Nathan was.

"Hales, do you usually come to my building to harass my employees?" Lucas asked irritated.

"It's a one time affair, don't worry your pretty little head over it Luke, it won't happen again." Haley answered.

"You're damn right it won't. Hales I don't really know what you were thinking when you came here but this wasn't the time or place to start any type of confrontations." He growled.

She held up her hands in a sign of defeat. "I'll wait for you in your office."

"That'd be a good idea."

Haley stood up slowly and made her way to the door stopping and looking back at Elizabeth she gave her a cold look. "Well, this Friday is our usual dinner at Luke's maybe you can show up and replace me there as well."

As Haley made it outside the door Elizabeth quickly called after her. "You should work on the bitchy diva act some more that comment was positively lame."

"Jesus, what the hell am I going to do with you two?" Lucas muttered as he followed behind Haley.

"Well now that we're alone." Nathan said rolling his eyes. "Did Haley try to curse you out?"

Elizabeth grinned. "Operative word being tried, I'm a hard one to crack. I think that pregnancy is screwing up her mind. First she was ice bitch, then she was sentimental teenager, then she became the diva. Next time you see her in court tell her to keep a better leash on her split personalities."

He laughed and dropped into the seat Haley had vacated just a few minutes earlier. "I'll make sure to mention that after the custody hearing."

* * *

"Haley have you gone off the deep end?" Lucas yelled slamming his office door shut behind him. "Are the hormones making you wacky? Did you forget to take your medication? Did someone steal your Gucci bag?" 

Haley rolled her eyes.

"What possessed you to come here today and attack Elizabeth?"

"Why are you defending that whore?" She asked.

"Damnit Hales, she's not a whore she's Brooke's _sister_ and Nathan's current girlfriend!"

"And the bitch that broke up my marriage."

"She didn't break up your goddamn marriage!" Lucas shouted. "Jesus Hales, I know you're pissed and you want somebody to blame but Elizabeth's not the person. If you want to blame someone all you have is you and Nathan. You two were ultimately the only ones who could have saved your marriage!"

"Look Luke, I'm not going to sit here and listen to your self-righte…"

"Haley shut up okay? I'm self-righteous all of a sudden? How many times have either you or Nathan come to me about your asinine problems that I didn't have to help with? Yeah…I figured too many times to count. All I _ever _try to do is help you so don't get an attitude with me" He growled. "And I have every damn right to yell at you, you came into MY office screaming shit at MY employees, you want to go do that shit? Do it out on the street…it's the perfect setting for acting like the ignorant teenager you're emulating!"

Haley looked slightly ashamed. "You're right, I shouldn't have done this here…I didn't know what I was thinking."

He snorted. "Obviously. Hales, I'm pissed right now, so can you just go?"

She sighed. "Yeah…alright…Luke I really am sorry."

"Go home and take care of that baby you're carrying."

Haley gave him a shaky smile and left closing his office door gently behind her.

Lucas swiveled in his chair and looked out the window at the city streets. He groaned to himself and curses his terrible conscience. Grabbing his cell phone he punched in his best friend's number. "Hales, apology accepted."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Thanks Luke…"

"And I was being an ass a few minutes ago, I didn't mean to blow up at you."

"Yes you did, but I don't mind I needed it. I'm acting like a jealous and ridiculous ex-wife. I'm acting like Serena's mom."

"Yeah, you are sort of acting like Serena's mom."

"I'm in the taxi now and I can't get over how stupid I must have looked to Elizabeth this morning. That's not how I wanted things to go."

"Yeah Hales I could tell, you hardly ever get into any fights let alone start them. You usually leave that to me."

"Well I can't run to you for this one can I? Nate and I fucked this up all on our own…I fucked this up all on my own."

"Glad to see you finally realized that." He remarked dryly.

"Don't be a smartass." She warned.

"I'm sorry Hales…" He said feeling genuinely guilty. "For everything."

"Me too Luke, guess we're not the perfect Palm Beach trio anymore right?"

He chuckled slightly. They had been called the Palm Beach trio in high school because although they weren't snobby, others had told them that they emanated a 'back off' vibe. Like no one could ever intrude in the world they had created for themselves. "I guess we're not." He said finally. "Have you guys told Dan, Karen, and Keith?"

Haley groaned. "I'm not telling that bastard anything…and Karen and Keith are in New Zealand."

"Right." He said feeling foolish. "The wedding and work has been keeping me busy, I haven't had time to call my own mom."

"It's okay Luke, it's understandable."

"Doesn't make it any better though." He said sighing. "I got to go Hales…clients are calling me."

"I forgot, you're a working man." She teased.

"Unfortunately…Hales, I love you."

"Love you to Luke…I'll see you later."

* * *

Brooke waltzed into Lucas's office and shot a winning smile his way as she threw herself into one of his desk chairs. 

"Hello oh wonderful fiancé of mine!" She exclaimed happily. "What's up?"

He looked up at her with an amused expression. "Work, work, more work, and a little bit of family drama in between. How about you?"

"Oh you know the usual idiotic freelance writers, competitive magazines, and incompetent assistants."

"Yet you're still 'happy-go-lucky, I'm way too perky' Brooke." He noted. "You must lend me some of the drugs you're on."

She grinned again and patted his hand. "Was today that horrible?"

He laughed. "Oh no, it was about a thousand times worse but you made my day better just by coming here."

"Glad to see nothing stops those compliments." She said. "What happened?"

"Let's see…I got a call from Angie that Haley stormed into Elizabeth's office and proceeded to curse her out, I got in a fight with Haley then called back and apologized, two of my newest clients just got new representation, and my parents have decided that you need some help with the wedding so they're coming to New York _all the way from New Zealand!_" He sighed and ran a hand down his tired face. "This day can't get any worse, its only noon!"

Brooke winced. "Wow, Haley versus Elizabeth showdown can't believe I missed it. Did Elizabeth win?"

"I think it was pretty even but Elizabeth insists that she won."

"As she would, she's a Davis—we don't back down."

He rolled his eyes "Right."

"What's this about parents coming to New York? I thought they were having fun in New Zealand." Brooke asked.

"Mom called for an update on what was going on and my answer was not satisfactory enough for her. She basically chewed me out and told me that I was giving you too much responsibility and that she and Keith would fly up here by the end of the week."

Brooke smiled. "Your mom and Keith I can handle as long as Dan doesn't make an appearance I'm fine."

"Don't hold your breath." He said sighing again. "He'll be up here sooner or later. Hopefully later."

"So how was the meeting with the wedding planner?" He asked.

"Jenny's a doll!" Brooke gushed. "She's a slightly annoying one, but I can't knock her methods—she delivers. The flowers and decorations for the wedding are perfect. I absolutely adore them and she brought an example of the invitations. They are beautiful."

"When are we sending them out?"

"This weekend." Brooke said grinning broadly. "We're getting married Luke!"

"I know Brooke." He said laughing at her. "I kind of asked you."

She swatted at his arm playfully. "Did you give me the names of everyone you wanted invited?"

He nodded. "Did you get in touch with your parents?"

"No but I gave Jenny the last address they gave me so hopefully they'll call back. I don't want to have to resort to using Dan to walk me down the aisle." She pulled a face. "That'd just be disgusting."

Lucas chuckled. "That's my father you're talking about!"

"Yeah, unfortunately." She leaned back in her chair. "Did you ask Nate to be your best man yet?"

"Did you ask Peyton to be your maid of honor?"

"Yes as a matter of fact." She said sticking out her tongue.

"I'll ask him on Friday."

"You better." She glanced at her watch and groaned. "Duty calls."

He grinned up at her. "Back to the rabid pool of fashion magazines?"

"Yes hubby-to-be." She said kissing him lightly on the lips. "I love you."

"I love me too." He said smile growing larger. "But I think I have some room in my heart for you."

TBC

**A/N:** I don't know where that last part came from…


	27. Part 25

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 25**

_"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt." - Bertrand Russel_**  
**

"You have no reason to be nervous." Nathan said calmly watching Elizabeth pace in her small apartment.

She looked at him incredulously and practically burst into tears. "I HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" She yelled. "I'm supposed to be meeting your dad and Lucas's parents and deal with Haley _all at the same time WHILE ATTENDING LUCAS AND BROOKE'S PRACTICE DINNER!" _She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "This could drive a sane person like me to drink!"

He grinned. "Good thing you're not sane, we don't want the both of us to be alcoholics."

She growled and threw her curling iron at him. "This is not funny!"

"Hey!" He exclaimed dropping the hot iron to the floor. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"No." She said looking thoughtful. "But it's a good idea. If I kill you there would be no reason for me to go to this damn dinner!"

"Brooke's your sister Eliza, you'd still have to be there."

"Correct, BUT I wouldn't be scared of being attacked by Haley or disapproved of by your dad."

"Haley's not going to attack anyone and my dad is probably happy that I divorced her." Nathan said placating her. "They never liked each other so maybe he'll like you."

Elizabeth snorted. "From the horror stories Lucas and Brooke tell I'm not too positive about that."

He rolled his eyes. "Lucas has never liked our father and probably never will. He's just a saint so he tolerates him and Brooke passed the 'I'm not a dirty gold digger test' so I figure she's okay in my dad's book."

"The 'dirty gold digger test' oh what fun!" She exclaimed sarcastically.

He shrugged. "My dad's paranoid, ever since Lucas got a restraining order on that one chick he never trusted any of our girlfriends again."

"Great! So he automatically assumes that I'm some crazy stalker bitch that's out to marry you and then kill you for your money. This just keeps getting better and better." She said groaning.

He smiled at her. "Everything is going to be fine."

She nodded. "Of course, positive thinking." She sighed and started to tug on her black dress. "So who's going to be there that I'm actually going to know?"

"There's…Haley, Luke, and Brooke obviously." He started. "Then there will be Nancy and I think you've heard of Nikki and Serena from Brooke and Peyton and Jake."

She raised an eyebrow. "Won't that cause drama?"

"Big bro promises that it won't so let's hope it doesn't."

Elizabeth slid her black pumps on and looked into the mirror. Her newly jet black hair was curled and falling softly on her shoulders and her make up was minimal except for her dramatically done eyes. She completed her classic look with a silver bracelet, necklace, and Chanel earrings.

"Okay I'm ready to go." She said looking at him apprehensively.

"Everything is going to be fine." He reminded her.

She glared. "Trust me, it's not."

* * *

_"The doubt of an earnest, thoughtful, patient and laborious mind is worthy of respect. In such doubt may be found indeed more faith than in half the creeds." - John Lancaster Spalding_

"This is going to be a disaster!" Brooke moaned hopelessly. "Luke what in hell were we thinking when we invited all these people? What the hell is the point of a practice dinner anyway?"

"We're trying out the menu on a select group of close friends." He said while fixing the flower arrangement on the middle of the long table they would be using.

She stared. "Our 'select group of close friends' would like to maim each other."

"Which is why we did the strategically planned seating?" He said grinning. "Hey look on the bright side; at least it won't be boring."

"Of course not, because it'll be CELEBRITY DEATH MATCHES IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS DAMN DINING ROOM!"

He walked over and pulled her into a comforting hug. "B, our friends may hate each other but they love us and they're not going to mess this day up because we'll be pissed and uninvite them to our wedding."

She gave him a small smile. "So it won't be a disaster?"

"No promises, but hopefully if there is a disaster it'll be a relatively small one."

"Okay…so we should probably do a rundown of everyone who is supposed to show and then tell the caterers to start setting the places—everyone will be here soon."

Lucas nodded and pulled out a sheet of paper. "Okay so…Haley, Nathan, Elizabeth, Serena, Nikki, Jake, Peyton, my dad, my mom, Keith, your dad, and your mom."

Brooke leaned her forehead against Lucas's. "I love you, and we're going to survive this dinner."

He grinned cheekily. "There never was a doubt."

* * *

_"Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." - Albert Einstein_

Elizabeth glanced nervously around the decorated dining room. It was beautiful, decorated in dark silver and gold, two of Brooke's favorite colors and the theme for the wedding.

"So where's your dad?" She asked.

"Coming right for us." Nathan said pasting on a fake smile. "Look happy, he smells fear." He joked.

She elbowed him and pasted on her own fake smile as Dan reached them. He patted his son on the back and gave her a once over before speaking. "You must be Elizabeth Davis, I'm Dan Scott Nathan's father."

"Hello Mr. Scott, how do you like New York so far?"

He looked disgusted. "New York is a dirty place and I don't know why Nathan and Lucas want to live here so badly. Florida is better—clean air and open space—not gutters and smog."

Elizabeth chuckled. "New York takes some getting used to."

Dan smiled back and then looked at Nathan. "Son, why don't you get your father a drink. I'm going to need something strong to survive this dinner."

Nathan rolled his eyes not putting up a fight against the obvious dismissal. "I'll be right back."

As soon as Nathan wandered over to a refreshment table Dan turned steely eyes back to her. "What are your intentions toward my son? You must have worked awfully hard to break him and Haley up."

Elizabeth flinched. "I didn't have to ruin their marriage Mr. Scott, they did that all on their own. I'm Nathan's girlfriend if you didn't notice and usually when you have that title your intentions are pretty clear—I want to be with him."

He looked at her snidely. "Bravo, what a cute speech. Look, I never liked Haley and I didn't pretend to but she's carrying my son's child he should have stayed with her and supported her. So don't think I'll approve of this _arrangement _you two have going on."

She narrowed her eyes and pulled herself up to her full height which barely reached Dan's shoulders. "Mr. Scott do you really think that I give a damn about your approval? Sure it would have been icing on the cake to not have _another _person in Nathan's family who hates my guts but trust me if I can deal with the paparazzi, disappointment from Luke and Brooke, and Haley's crazy ass I can definitely deal with you. I'm not going to dump Nathan just because you don't like me and I hope you realize that I would never get in the way of his relationship with his son. Contrary to popular belief Mr. Scott, not all people are evil like you."

He smirked. "You're a bit more feisty that your sister. I like that. You take care of my son." He said and then wandered away as Nathan returned with the drinks.

Eliza grimaced. "I think I passed the test."

He handed her the drink meant for Dan and shrugged. "See I told you it wouldn't be that bad."

* * *

_A Prayer For My Son Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid; one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory…Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength. Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain." - General Douglas MacArthur _

A bell chimed throughout the large dining room and they both turned to the table where Lucas had hopped on to the chair.

"Hey guys, its dinnertime so find your place at the table and let the first course begin."

Brooke sat next to Lucas and surveyed her friends and family who were talking amongst themselves. She let out a relieved sigh and turned to him. "Luke, no one has killed each other yet and it's been a whole hour, I don't think this night can get any better."

He grinned and was about to answer when Dan stood up and hit his fork against his glass to get everyone's attention.

He groaned. "Brooke you jinxed it."

Once everyone had quieted down Dan began to speak. "Well, first off let me say congratulations to both Lucas and Brooke. You two are a wonderful couple and I must say it came as a total surprise that Lucas could actually find a woman that couple put up with him and even more of a surprise that she was as independent and self-sufficient as Brooke is."

Lucas groaned softly and whispered in Brooke's ear: "That means he doesn't think you're a gold digging whore."

"Wonderful." Brooke whispered back sarcastically.

"I almost thought that he would end up with Serena, but it turns out that Lucas always has a trick up his sleeve." Dan continued.

Serena smirked, Brooke looked pissed, and Lucas just sighed heavily.

"I also think congratulations are in order for Nathan who managed to land Lucas's soon-to-be-bride's sister. It's amazing that he ever got rid of that clingy singer. I thought he would never wise up and see the error of his ways."

Haley growled low and Nathan dropped his head into his hands. Meanwhile, Elizabeth just got paler.

"So in closing because I know you are tired of hearing this old man talk."

Haley rolled her eyes and commented loudly. "Wow, not so self-absorbed after all Dan actually saving us all from listening to you!"

Dan kept his cold smile on his face. "Another congrats to Lucas and Brooke and I hope all of you are enjoying your dinner."

Lucas stood up embarrassed after his father's words. "Yeah, okay…so besides what Dan led you to believe this dinner was not created to give you the 411 on Nathan's life. There are the tabloids for that." Everyone laughed softly. "You guys are free to do whatever you want for the rest of the time, Brooke and I just want to thank you for coming and being our guinea pigs. I'm sure in two months if you didn't like the food it'll be definitely better at the reception. Doors close at 10 everybody!"

* * *

_"What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from." - TS Elliot_

"Being a hostess is overrated." Brooke complained to Haley. "I'm glad I never followed my mom's footsteps and became a socialite. I would have cracked under the pressure and ended up in rehab."

Haley laughed. "That's taking it to the extreme. The spotlights not so bad."

"You're a singer! They like pay you to say that!"

Haley let out another snort of laughter just as Nancy came up to them. "This dinner party was awesome Brooke. You and Luke did great. No bar fights, cat fights, and celebrity fights!"

"Nance, I'm always ready for your humor." Brooke commented dryly.

Nancy giggled. "Too bad you didn't invite any of your hot, brooding magazine writers. I need a man…like badly."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Always a riot Nance, you just keep those jokes coming."

Nancy stretched and flopped down in a chair next to Haley. "You know I should quit my day job and become a comedian."

Brooke mock gasped. "You actually _have _a job? I didn't know sitting around waiting for Nathan to do something important constituted as a job."

Nancy glared. "You're HILARIOUS Brookie. I think getting Daddy's approval went to your head."

"Oh please…can we not talk about Dan? I dealt with that man for most of my teenage life and 5 years of my married life. I think the only good thing about my divorce from Nathan is that I divorced Dan too." Haley said bitterly.

"Oh here we go…" Nancy muttered watching the blonde that was approaching them.

"Brooke! You look stunning tonight, becoming married is good for you!" Serena exclaimed.

Brooke smiled brightly. "Thank you Serena, you look great as well. How do you like New York?"

"Florida is way better but it isn't too bad. So many things to do that's for sure." She said. "So how does it feel to be engaged to Lucas?"

Brooke stared and Serena stared back while Haley and Nancy tried hard not to burst into hysterical laughter.

"Okay you know what Serena? This whole 'let's be civil and act like we care about each other' vibe we were trying to pull is so not working. So can we skip all the nice talk?"

Serena's face closed off and she fingered her champagne glass. "You won." Serena said dully. "What else is there to say?"

"Nothing." Brooke answered simply. "Enjoy the party."

Serena turned around and stalked back to the bar.

* * *

_Now the standard cure for one who is sunk is to consider those in actual destitution or physical suffering—this is an all-weather beatitude for gloom in general and fairly salutary day-time advice for everyone. But at three o'clock in the morning, a forgotten package has the same tragic importance as a death sentence, and the cure doesn't work—and in a real dark night of the soul it is always three o'clock in the morning, day after day. At that hour the tendency is to refuse to face things as long as possible by retiring into an infantile dream - but one is continually startled out of this by various contacts with the world. - F. Scott Fitzgerald_

"Mom! Dad! So…because of the embarrassing speech by Dan you know that I'm dating Lucas's brother. This is Nathan Scott." She said introducing him to her parents. "Nathan…this is my mother Linda and step father John."

"Hello Nathan! You're a basketball player aren't you? The one that was married to that singer?" Linda asked immediately.

Nathan sighed. "Yup that'd be me."

Linda turned to John and smiled. "Honey! Doesn't Eliza look so happy?"

Mr. Davis looked at his wife amused and shook Nathan's hand. "Good to meet you Nathan, I trust you're taking care of Eliza."

"As best as I can sir. " Nathan replied politely.

"Well, this was such a lovely party wasn't it?" Linda chattered filling up the silence.

Eliza rolled her eyes. "New York and Florida's rich and famous collide."

Mrs. Davis clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Oh Eliza, you should be happy for your sister. This…cynical outlook on light just isn't healthy."

"Mom stuff it, you see me two weeks out of the year _at most_, maybe seeing you just puts me in a bad mood."

Linda gasped glancing at Nathan's slightly embarrassed expression and then turning cold eyes on her daughter. "Eliza, we should talk later okay honey?" She says in a false cheerful tone.

Eliza struggled not to hurt her mom for her amazing avoidance issues. "No mom because we never will but its fine, I'm used to it by now." She tugged on Nathan's sleeve indicating her absolute desire to leave the vicinity of her parents _as soon as possible_. "Nice seeing you again John."

Mr. Davis shook his head but replied anyway. "Goodbye Eliza."

As they walked away Nathan waited for an explanation. "Don't want to talk about it." She mumbled.

"Well you're going to anyway because it looked like you just went out of your way to piss your mom off."

She shrugged. "That's just how we've always been. It's a bitch growing up with a woman who's got avoiding the issue down to a science."

"What exactly is the issue?"

Elizabeth smiled bitterly at him. "Me. The child they didn't want. The child that reminds them of what almost destroyed their marriage."

"Shit…I'm sorry…"

She looked at him helplessly. "It's okay. After 21 years you get used to not being wanted."

* * *

_"One should not lose one's temper unless one is certain of getting more and more angry to the end." - William Butler Yeats_

Lucas sighed to himself as Jake and Peyton approached him. He didn't want to deal with both of them at the same time. Not today, hell—not ever.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked taking a long sip from his champagne glass. He was going to need it.

"We just wanted to say congratulations." Peyton answered. "I know we've said it to Brooke…I'm her maid of honor and everything, but we've been avoiding you and we shouldn't do that."

He shrugged. "You have no obligation to me. As long as we're not fighting in front of Brooke I don't care."

"Maybe so but Brooke knows the tension is there, and that's just as bad." Peyton said.

He shrugged again. "What do you want me to do about it? I didn't create it."

"That's a load of bullshit." Jake said finally entering the conversation.

Luke stared at him. "Whatever happened to the calm guy in high school who didn't curse?"

"He decided being nice was overrated." Jake bit back angrily. "Luke, what the hell has been going on with you?"

"Nothing at all." Luke answered easily. "I've been following my instincts because…I trust them and believe it or not I trust Nikki."

"You practically handed my daughter over to Nikki with that testimony of yours!" Jake yelled.

Everyone in the party stopped and looked towards Luke and Jake.

Lucas cursed underneath his breath. "Jake I want you to leave." He said as calmly as he possibly could. "I want you to go right now, because you are an idiotic, self-centered, prick with no respect for me or Brooke or our dinner party that you're interrupting with this petty bullshit!"

"You want to blame me for doing absolutely nothing?" Lucas asked angrily. "Go right on doing it, I don't care anymore. I'm sick and tired of feeling guilty for doing something that felt right—that is right. Jenny has a mom, her name is Nicole Green, and Nikki is not a bad person. She made mistakes because god forbid she makes a fucking mistake in the presence of Jake 'I'm a goddamn saint' Jagielski!" He took a deep breath and pointed towards the door. "Didn't Nikki take Jenny last week and bring her back in one piece? Yes she did. Because people change. They change for the better and sometimes they change for the worse. You're not the Jake I knew anymore so we're done."

"Lucas I am so…" Peyton started.

"Get _out _both of you." Lucas growled. "Peyton, if you plan on coming to my wedding. You **_better not_** bring him."

And with that said, Lucas stalked out of the room leaving the rests of the guests in absolute shock.

* * *

_"The cure for all ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows and the crimes of humanity, all lie in the one word 'love.' It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life." -Lydia Maria Child_

"Well holy shit." Brooke said as she finally caught up with him.

"I'm sorry." He murmured softly pulling her into a hug and burying his face in her soft hair. "He pissed me off…bringing it up tonight."

"He was an ass, I get it. You don't have to explain." Brooke said.

"You're not pissed that I uninvited him? It messes up your seating chart." He said smiling slightly.

"I'm not pissed." She said. "So…we almost made it."

"Yeah, we almost did."

"It really wasn't much of a celebrity death match because Jake wasn't a celebrity." Brooke commented a few minutes later.

Lucas burst out laughing finally letting her go. "I love you." He managed to get out.

"Yeah I love you too, so can we go back outside?"

He nodded. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Understanding."

"It's what I do…it's why I'm getting married to you."

"So you can be my personal therapist?"

She smiled. "No, so I can just enjoy being in love with you…and that includes understanding when you finally have a meltdown and scare everyone to death with your mostly nonexistent temper."

He grinned. "We have guests."

"Still? I was hoping now that all the drama was over they'd go home."

"I'm sure some more horrible soap opera filled angst will show up again tonight."

Lucas stopped talking when they heard a loud crash and hysterical yelling.

"Glass was breaking—check, yelling—check, obnoxious crying—check." Brooke said. "Sounds like angst to me."

"Come on, we've got guests to please."

TBC

A/N: I hope that this chapter made up for the long wait because damn I love it. I'm sorry if it seems kind of jumpy though (with the random scene changes and quotes). There are so many things going on at once that I wanted to get into this part because sadly…the story is coming to a close. I'm guessing there are about 3 parts left and then a follow-up (I don't want to call it an epilogue because it really isn't). I worked hard on this part, so pretty please review?


	28. Part 26

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 26**

_"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." - Confucius_

Lucas groaned loudly and surveyed the damage to his face while Brooke rushed around their penthouse looking for first aid supplies. It was nearing 1 in the morning and both of them had yet to sink into their comfortable bed after their disastrous dinner party. Between Lucas's argument with Jake and Haley's fight with Elizabeth, Lucas was tired of family, friends, and anybody in between.

"We should just elope." He muttered annoyed. "If we have to be afraid at our own wedding that our friends just might kill each other then it's not even worth it."

Brooke smiled at him. "I can assure you it's not going to be a repeating thing. Eliza was just stressed that my mother was there and Haley provoked her."

"Provoked her into almost beating the shit out of a pregnant woman?" Lucas said incredulously.

"Haley should learn to pick and choose her battles." She chuckled at the bruise now turning strange colors on Lucas's jaw. "And not to get you involved in them."

"I was protecting my nephew/godson." Lucas grumbled. "Your sister has a mean left hook."

"She took boxing for a couple of years."

He rolled his eyes. "Well that explains it."

"She apologized." She reminded him.

"After I was already on the floor curled up in pain." He muttered. "I really do think we should elope."

She looked at him as if he had suddenly sprouted another head. "Lucas Scott get that idea out of your head right now. We are not going to elope after I've spent countless hours with perky Jenny and have already invited my mother." She shivered at the thought. "My mother would slaughter me as soon as she saw me if I didn't have a big wedding." She handed him an ice pack. "Not to mention what Karen and Keith would do or Dan for that matter."

"My mom and Keith would just be happy that I'm happy and who gives a rat's ass about Dan?" He replied.

"We're not eloping, end of story." Brooke said firmly.

He sighed and pouted. "Fine."

"We're going to go through with this wedding and make very sappy vows and pledge our life to each other while simultaneously stopping World War III from occurring at our wedding and _we will like it._" Brooke continued just as firmly.

"I don't know about that last part…"

She gave him the patented glare of doom before pushing him towards the bed. "And tomorrow I'll deal with my sister and you'll deal with Haley and then I'll meet you for lunch and afterwards I'll go yell at Jake. What are we doing for dinner?"

He shrugged the pain medication he took finally beginning to kick in. "Let's just order in. I think I'm sick of seeing the outside world."

* * *

Brooke was tired, she hadn't been able to sleep after she had shuffled Lucas off to bed but that didn't mean she wasn't looking her best and ready to chew out Elizabeth for horrible behavior. She was meeting her sister for breakfast while Lucas talked to Haley at Promotex, at least this way they were positive that the two wouldn't run into each other and start another fight.

"Hey Brooke." Elizabeth said smiling slightly at her sister as she took the seat across from her. "Come on and let me have it."

Brooke took her time, ordering her food and making sure that her sister was afraid…very afraid. She was pissed and she was going to make sure her Elizabeth knew it.

"Brooke?" Eliza asked warily after she had ordered her own food. "You are going to yell at me right? And not turn into mom and avoid it?"

Brooke's brown eyes met her sister's blue ones and then she exploded. "You are an asshole. Did you know that?" Brooke said with an almost frightening calm voice. "I figured that you and Haley would eventually go at it but couldn't you have waited until you were outside and not in the middle of my party?" Brooke growled. "My _practice dinner party_! The one that is ultimately important and alludes to the fact that **_I _**am getting married and deserve to have all the attention focused on me and not on your stupid problems with Nathan!"

Elizabeth shrank back in her chair against the onslaught of Brooke's tirade. "B, you know I'm sorry. Haley's jabs at me on top on everything else that happened that night set me off. I didn't come there with the intent of fighting her."

Brooke sank down into the chair in front of Elizabeth's desk and regarded her sister. "Mom called me about the attitude you had with her."

"And now it's super Brooke to the rescue?" Elizabeth asked not interested. "Unless you have the ability to turn back time so that mom didn't have me I don't think you can fix this one."

"Are we back to this again?" Brooke said exasperated. "Mom loves you Eliza, she's not the best mother in the world so it barely shows but she wouldn't be so upset that you were upset with her if she didn't care."

Elizabeth shrugged. "I don't want to talk about this with you."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Whatever Eliza, I'm not going to try to convince you."

"I didn't ask you to." Eliza looked up from her computer screen. "Anything else?"

"Are you going to be with Nathan at the wedding?"

"Are you asking me if I'm going to deliberately piss off Haley? Because the answer to that would be 'no.' if you're asking if drama is going to occur at your wedding because your sister is dating your fiancé's best friend's ex-husband then that is a definite 'yes.'" Elizabeth said wryly typing away at her computer.

"You're so damn hilarious." Brooke said once again rolling her eyes.

Brooke was a traditional person, after spending most of her teenage years being a trouble maker she had wanted to make her parents and the society pages happy with the wedding of the year. But with all the drama going on in her family, Lucas's family, and both of their friends a wedding seemed more and more like a chore and a definite disaster then something that would make the both of them happy. This is why Brooke though it was about time that she revisited her rebel years.

"Eliza what would you think if I decided I wanted to elope with Lucas?" Brooke asked.

"You mean head over to Vegas for a couple of days of extreme fun and then get married in a cheesy chapel? I think it'd be adorable." Elizabeth answered. "What's the matter? Getting cold feet? Don't think the wedding is posh enough to make it into People magazine?"

Brooke snorted vainly. "I don't have to try to get into People magazine; they're already knocking on my door."

"Then eloping was Lucas's idea?"

She nodded. "He wasn't too keen on doing a wedding after the dinner party disaster."

"And you're actually considering it? I figured you would shut him down before he even got the sentence out."

"I did, but now I'm having second thoughts." She smiled nervously. "Sometimes I think our life is so hectic and complicated that this wedding will never happen."

"You and Luke let your lives be overrun but your friends and it shouldn't be that way." Elizabeth said wisely. "It's great that you guys love your friends so much but you guys go overboard with it. _Especially _Lucas."

"Lucas wouldn't feel right if he saw anybody he loved suffering." Brooke said smiling. "That's one of the reasons why I love him so much."

"Otherwise known as bleeding heart syndrome." Elizabeth said disgusted. "It's cute for awhile and then it's like 'Lucas stop being a pussy and tell Haley how much of a bitch she's being. I was surprised he had the nerve to go up against Jake like that the other night."

Brooke groaned. "I have to go talk to them. Jake needs to seriously apologize and Peyton has been going out of her mind with guilt about it."

"Peyt's a good person and Jake is too, he's just caught up in his hate for Nikki."

"I know."

Brooke stood up glancing at her watch. "Eliza you want to come out with me and Lucas for lunch?"

"Give me a half hour to do some updates to the website and I'll meet you in Lucas's conference room?"

Brooke nodded. "That's fine."

* * *

"How you doing?" Lucas asked dropping into the seat next to his best friend.

Haley looked up at him and went back to the sheet music she was studying. "Hey Luke, I'm doing good but I should probably be asking you that right?"

"Between the black eye and the bruise on my jaw I think how I'm doing is pretty self explanatory."

She burned with shame and gave him a small smile. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking when I said all of that crap to Elizabeth. I was just so pissed at Dan and then his public display of affection for Nathan's decision to drop me and pick her up was just a low blow."

"Dan was pretty harsh but the man is a bastard what do you expect?" Lucas said as if that was an excuse.

"I don't even know why you invited him." Haley murmured. "You can barely stand him."

He shrugged. "He's my father Hales."

She nodded. "Much to my dismay, he is. So what's the real reason for coming here Luke? You and Brooke double teaming Elizabeth and me?"

"Something like that." Lucas said. "I wanted to make sure my favorite nephew was okay of course."

"He's coming along fine." Haley said smiling broadly. "The doctor said he's perfectly healthy."

"And Nathan went with you?"

She smiled slightly. "Surprisingly yes. And we didn't fight once and I didn't bring up Elizabeth. I decided to drop the custody issue. I'm being ridiculous to even consider cutting Nathan out of our child's life."

"That's great Hales, custody battles are never pretty. Especially when every detail is liable to end up in a magazine for the whole world to see."

"Oh the perils of being famous right?"

"Right."

"So what about you and Elizabeth? Finally going to bury the hatchet and mean it?"

"I haven't spoken to her." Haley said.

"Please do." Lucas said. "I got to head back to the office, I'm meeting Brooke for lunch but talk to Eliza as soon as you can okay?"

Haley nodded. "I will, thanks for coming by."

"You're my best friend." Lucas reminded her.

"Best friend for always right?" Haley said smiling.

"You can count on that."

* * *

Lucas arrived back at his office to be met by the Davis sisters. Tugging at his suit he locked the door and stared. "Why do I suddenly feel worried?"

"I was thinking about the idea you had this morning." Brooke said. "And then when I went to go talk to Eliza I finally realized just how much I was letting our reputation and our friends and families opinions rule our life and that it just wasn't making me happy."

"Wait hold on." Lucas interrupted a worried look on his face. "Marrying me isn't making you happy?"

"Not that, the big wedding isn't making me happy." Brooke clarified. "Marrying you is making me deliriously happy."

He grinned. "Just checking."

"So, eloping doesn't seem like such a bad idea." Brooke ventured slowly.

"Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack."

Lucas turned to Elizabeth. "I love you in such a ridiculously platonic way."

Eliza smiled at him. "I know."

"When?"

"I was sort of thinking now." Brooke said blushing.

He let out a girly squeal and crushed Brooke into a bear hug. "I love you and I love this idea and I'm all for doing it right now."

"Then we have a plan?"

"Not yet we don't." Lucas said determined. "Sit down." He ordered.

Brooke and Elizabeth sat while they witnessed the real reason why Lucas was so good at everything he did.

First phone call: "Hey Nathan? Could you come to Promotex right now? Yes it is that important. Oh and pack a bag for about 3 days. No, I can't tell you why you're packing a bag until you get here. Yes, it's a good thing. Do you have a key for Eliza's apartment? You do? Good. Can you pack a bag for her as well? Thanks little bro'!"

Second phone call: "Hey Nance can you do me a favor? Can you head over to my penthouse and throw some clothes for Brooke and me in a suitcase? You can? Thank you I really appreciate it. I'll tell you why when you get here just go ahead and bring it to my office."

Third phone call: "Hi my name is Lucas Scott I'd like to book a flight for four to Las Vegas at your earliest possible time. Yes, it'll be first class. Thank you I can make it for 3:15 go ahead and book them. Thank you."

Fourth phone call: "Hey Lauren? Hi it's Lucas Scott. I was wondering if you could do me a really big favor. Can you and Lawrence handle four visitors at your house for about 3 days? It'll be me, Brooke, Brooke's sister, and my brother." He paused and grinned. "You are a lifesaver Laurie! Our plane comes in at seven can you meet us at the airport? Thanks so much."

He set down the phone and looked at the two women. "Now we have a plan."

Brooke just looked at him in awe. "I just realized why you're CEO."

"Because I started this company?" He said looking at her strangely.

"No, because you're damn good with a telephone."

Lucas and Elizabeth laughed.

"Well, Las Vegas here we come." Elizabeth remarked.


	29. Part 27

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 27**

"Welcome to Las Vegas!" Lauren exclaimed pulling both Brooke and Lucas into a huge hug. "You're Brooke right? Damn, I have to respect the woman that finally got Lucas to settle down!"

Lauren grabbed one of Brooke's bags and continued talking. "Luke prepped me over the phone that all of this was supposed to be hush hush and everything. It's kind of strange being friends with someone famous and after knowing him so long you think I'd get used to it." Lauren shook her head mournfully. "In Las Vegas sports aren't a big deal so when an athlete does show up around here they immediately seek me out in hopes that I'll give a recommendation to Lucas. It's crazy. Oh, I'm being rude! Hello I'm Lauren Fisher."

Brooke tried to keep up with the whirlwind of energy the petite woman exuded but failed miserably. "Hi." She finally managed.

"And this is your sister Elizabeth right?" Lauren suddenly stopped. "Wait, if this is supposed to be your top secret wedding why isn't Haley here?"

Lucas winced knowing the question would come up. "This idea of ours was such short notice that I decided that only the people we really needed to be here should be here and that would be Eliza because Brooke wants her here and Nathan because he's my brother and best man. Brooke's maid of honor, Peyton, will be arriving in a couple of hours."

Lauren blinked owlishly and then shrugged. "Your decision Luke, so Nate how are you and Haley doing?"

"We're divorced." Nathan said without missing a beat.

Lauren visibly winced and backtracked quickly. "Wow, ok, well sorry to hear that. I'm just going to shut up now and find the car."

Lucas laughed and gave Lauren another hug. "It's great to see you again Laurie."

She smiled. "Always a pleasure Luke."

"So how did you two meet?" Brooke asked her.

"Oh wow, let's see. It was at one of Nathan's first basketball games with the Knicks and I was not interested at all but my husband Lawrence was so he dragged me there. Anyway, his friend had given us some courtside tickets which happened to be right next to Lucas's seat and before I died of boredom Lucas decided to save me by saying 'Hello.' So here I am thinking 'oh my god someone actually socializes during this disgusting show of testosterone' and I remember to say 'Hi' finally and well…from there it was history."

"Actually there's a lot more to it but that's the basic overview." Lucas said chuckling. They finally reached the SUV and everyone piled in. "How is Lawrence Laurie? I haven't talked to him in ages."

"Lawrence is caught up with the hospital right now. He's trying to get elected to the Board of the Directors." Lauren stated proudly.

Lucas whistled. "That's great, he's really young to be trying to get on the board already."

"Lawrence is a great doctor and he's done so much for the hospital in the short time he's been there he deserves it."

"I'm sure he does, Lawrence is a great guy." Lucas replied.

"Not to interrupt or anything but how are we doing this?" Brooke asked. "Are we going to just go drive to a chapel or something? I've heard that Vegas had those cheesy places with like Elvis and stuff and no offense but that's not my style."

Lauren giggled. "I'm not dragging you off to a chapel."

"Then where?"

"Lucas and I have decided to keep it a secret until we get you there so there is no chance in you backing out."

"I made it all the way to Vegas I think that shows something about my dedication."

Lauren just smiled. "You'll love it, trust me."

Almost a half hour later they pulled into a large two story house that practically screamed elegance. Brooke was taken aback by how gorgeous the house was. "This house is beautiful." Brooke gasped.

"Thank you." Lauren said opening the door. "It was a fixer upper. It took Lawrence and me a long time to get it to this point."

"I'll take Elizabeth and Nathan to their room since they look tired and then I'll show you to yours."

"Yeah, I could do with a nap. It was a long flight." Brooke said. She turned to Lucas. "Will you and Lauren be alright picking up Peyton by yourself? I don't think I could make it."

Lucas kissed her gently and pushed her towards the stairs. "We'll be fine. I'm a big kid now and all that jazz."

"Sometimes I forget." She said smiling tiredly.

* * *

Once Brooke, Elizabeth, and Nathan were settled Lauren took Lucas outside to talk about what they were going to do tomorrow. 

"You were lying to me earlier…about Haley not being here." Lauren said while fixing them both a light dinner before they were to leave. "She _is _going to be here right? That divorce couldn't have killed her and Nate's relationship that much."

"It's complicated but she is going to be here. I just didn't want her flying up with us because of the situation with Elizabeth."

"Ahh…Elizabeth is the new girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"And you approve?" She asked incredulously.

"It doesn't matter if I approve or not, it matters if Nathan is happy and he is. That's enough for me."

"Haley's your best friend." She put in pointedly. "What about what she wants?"

"Nathan's my _brother_." Lucas replied. "I'm sick of being the one to mend their marriage. If it's over then it's over Laurie, just leave it alone okay?"

"Alright, I'm dropping the subject." She said. "Are you parents coming?"

"I called Brooke's parents while she was sleeping and they're going to make it and I called my mom and Keith."

"Dan?"

"Business trip."

"Ouch that's harsh."

Lucas shrugged. "It isn't his fault I decided to push the wedding up, and change the location, and cut down the guest list about 200 people."

"Are you sure Peyton's going to be able to get Brooke out of the house tomorrow?" Lauren asked worriedly. "I can get everything set up by the time they get back but if they come back earlier than 2 PM we'll have a problem."

"I've booked them a spa treatment and appointments to get their hair and nails done." Lucas said. "That should take them until at least 4 and afterwards they'll have to get dressed."

Lauren nodded making jotting down stuff on her notepad. "We're going for simple elegance right?"

"Right, Brooke has that classic kind of beauty and she deserves a beautiful wedding, even if it's not going to be publicized to hundreds of people."

Lauren smiled at him. "You two are perfect for each other. I'm so glad you finally found someone for you."

"I'm glad too, I was beginning to lose faith. He smiled contently. "Then Brooke came along and restored it. I love her so much Laurie, this has to be perfect."

"It will." She insisted. "They don't call me the wedding planner to the stars for no reason Luke, I'm damned good at what I do."

"I know, I trust you."

She looked at her watch. "We should go get Peyton now."

* * *

Brooke woke up disoriented before realizing that she was in Las Vegas, miles away from all of her friends and family getting married in a way that had never even crossed her mind before. Growing up in the spotlight and then having a career in the spotlight pretty much guaranteed that every aspect of your life stayed that way. But now her wedding would be private and viewed by only a couple of people and although the idea appealed to her it also frightened her to death. _What would her mother think?_

"Hey what's wrong you look like you saw a ghost?" Peyton asked her.

"I think I'm getting pre-wedding jitters." Brooke said smiling weakly. "Tell me I'm doing the right thing."

"You're doing the right thing." Peyton told her firmly. "Lucas is great for you and you're great for him. You don't want a huge wedding because you don't handle pressure well, and you're going to get up because it's 9:30 in the morning and we have an appointment to go to."

Brooke look horrified. "It's MORNING?" She groaned and rolled out of bed. "Holy shit, why didn't you wake me up when you came in last night?"

"Lucas didn't want me to, he said you were tired."

"I _was _but I at least wanted to see you before I was lost in dream land."

"We got back late, it was okay. I fell asleep almost immediately. Flying across the country isn't what I call fun." Peyton assured her. "Go get dressed and I'll meet you downstairs."

Brooke nodded. "I'm glad you're here Peyt." She said smiling gratefully.

Moments later Brooke was in the shower when arms encircled her and she turned around to face her soon-to-be husband who was grinning at her. "Hey beautiful."

"I'm showering." She replied bluntly.

"I'm here to help." He said in between the hot kisses that he was placing on her wet neck.

She moaned before pushing him away. "Peyton said we had an appointment to go to. What appointment?"

"Spa, hair, and nails." He murmured hands sliding lower.

"Stop it!" She groaned. "Get out now!"

He grinned. "You don't want me to leave."

"Yes I do." Brooke said.

He kissed her sweetly his fingers working wonders. "I'll make it quick." He promised.

She moaned into his mouth and nodded.

* * *

"Ok people! We only have a couple hours to get this together so hurry up!" Lauren shouted as her team started unloading flowers, tables, and white linens. "I need this backyard set up as soon as possible! Where is my arch? Someone get started on it right away I need those roses on it! Who is contacting the preacher? And who's in charge of the seating? FASTER PEOPLE." 

Everyone rushed around trying to comply while Lauren continued her dictating. Lucas just chuckled. "Laurie I'll see you later okay? Nate's here to help you if you need it. Elizabeth and I are going to the airport."

Lauren nodded distracted. "Have fun, be back by 4."

"So why am I coming along again?" Elizabeth asked climbing into Lauren's Escalade. "I was having fun helping Lauren."

"You're coming along" Lucas started while backing out of the driveway. "Because I want to talk to you."

"Oh here we go." Elizabeth muttered.

"I'm serious okay? I want today to be perfect."

She nodded. "I get it Luke so go ahead and talk."

"We're going to pick up Haley and your parents right now." He said gauging her reaction.

Elizabeth's face stayed blank. "Alright."

"How do feel about that?"

She glared at him. "Don't try the therapist routine on me Luke. I get what you're trying to say you don't want me to make trouble with Haley or get angsty with my parents and its fine I understand that today is your wedding day and you should be happy not dealing with my problems."

"I want you to be happy too."

"I'm happy that my bratty older sister is happy." Elizabeth finally responded. "If I have to deal with the ex from hell and my mother then I will. Brooke's put up with a lot of shit from me over the years so it's the least I can do."

"Thank you Eliza, that means a lot to me." Lucas said genuinely grateful that Elizabeth was making this so easy for him. "I'm going to talk to Haley too and your mother."

She looked surprised. "Why my mother?"

"Because I know when she gushes about Brooke and her success it makes you feel inadequate and you shouldn't feel that way. I don't want her doing it today. I don't want her doing it ever, but that'd be asking too much." Lucas said. "And Haley is just as guilty as you. She means well and she tries not to let it bother her but she can't help it when she sees you and Nathan together. It tears at her heart."

Elizabeth looked guilty. "I can imagine."

The car lapsed into silence and conversation didn't pick up again until they were walking into the airport. "You're going to be okay right?" Lucas asked her as he saw Haley up ahead and Brooke and Elizabeth's parents right behind her.

She nodded. "I'm doing this for you and Brooke, I can handle it."

* * *

Lucas looked amused as one of Lauren's many helpers whisked Elizabeth off to get dressed as soon as they piled out of the car. Another two helpers whisked away Brooke's parents but Lucas stopped the person that came for Haley. "I'll send her off in a few minutes" He assured the stressed woman. "Tell Lauren that she shouldn't dock your pay or anything." 

"What's up?" Haley asked.

"I need you to tell me that you're not going to start anything today." Lucas said seriously.

"Lucas I wouldn't do that."

"I thought you wouldn't do at my dinner party either but I was wrong."

"I already said I was sorry about that."

"I know but I'm reminding you. Eliza and Nate are not here just to piss you off okay? They're here to support me on my wedding day. I need to understand that. They're not intentionally pissing you off. They're not flaunting their relationship. They're not trying to make you jealous."

"I know."

"No you don't, you just think you do."

"I'm not going to start anything." Haley promised.

"Thank you, and I'm trusting you to keep your word Hales."

Lucas watched Haley walk away and then made his way to the area where he knew Mrs. Davis would be getting dressed. "Hello Mrs. Davis do you mind if I come in?" He asked politely.

"Oh of course Lucas, I wanted to talk to you as well." She exclaimed happily. "Wonderful wedding planner you have here. Her staff is really professional."

He smiled. "Laurie's the best. I've known her for a long time."

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Elizabeth."

Mrs. Davis happy smile immediately turned into a frown and her face darkened. "What is there to talk about?"

"I've known for awhile that your relationship with Elizabeth has never been the best…"

She snorted. "That's an understatement."

Lucas nodded. "Right, its worse, but I'm asking if you can put cut back on the obvious adulation you do of Brooke today for Elizabeth's sake."

"What are you talking about?" She asked coldly. "I don't treat my daughters any different."

"You might not think you do Mrs. Davis, it's a common mistake every parent does but the bottom line is that you do and it hurts Elizabeth for you to show your affection for Brooke so much and make her feel like she doesn't belong in her own family. Her sister is getting married today and she wants to be happy for her, don't make it harder by playing favorites."

She stayed silent and Lucas prayed that he didn't overstep his boundaries. "Thank you for bringing this to my attention Lucas." She said stiffly. "But I don't think it'll be a problem for me since I don't treat my daughters any differently."

He sighed softly. "Alright Mrs. Davis. You wanted to speak to me as well?"

"Before you started making judgments on my parenting I was going to tell you that I was happy that Brooke found such a lovely young man. Someone that could take care of her and treat her how she deserves."

"Mrs. Davis I was not making judgments…"

She held up a hand to silence him. "We've dropped the subject." She said briskly. "I'll see you at the wedding Lucas."

"See you then Mrs. Davis."

* * *

Brooke and Peyton were dropped off in front of Lauren's apartment at exactly 4:30 and Brooke looked amazed. "What the hell is going on?" She asked. 

Peyton didn't answer her, instead making her way into the house. "I think Luke needs to have a word with you."

"Your damn right he does." She said taking in the people franticly running around. "Lucas what is going on?" She asked as soon as she saw his blonde head.

He pulled her into a corner. "Your wedding."

"I thought we were going to a chapel…"

"I never told you Laurie's occupation did I?" Lucas asked nonchalantly.

"No…"

"She's a wedding planner." Lucas said. "A highly paid and respected one."

"You hired her?"

He shook his head. "She's doing it because she wants to."

"We're getting married right now? In her back yard?" Brooke asked incredulously.

Lucas guided her to one of the huge windows in the kitchen. Brooke gave out a gasp that closely resembled a sob. "Oh my lord…"

"You like it?"

"I love it." She murmured taking in the pink rose petals covering the ground, the white chairs placed strategically in a semi circle around a white wicker arch with flowers entwined around it. "It's beautiful."

"Go get ready." He said smiling. "Everyone is waiting for us."

"My parents are here…" She said dazed. "My dad's going to walk me down the aisle."

"That he is." Lucas agreed pushing her to Peyton.

"Thank you."

He nodded and went upstairs to get dressed himself.

"Well what are we waiting for B, let's go get you married!" Peyton cried.

**TBC**

**A/N: **The next part is the last chapter so let me address some issues.

1 – To everyone who didn't like the Naley breakup and the Nathan/Elizabeth pairing: Oh well? I haven't like Haley in a long time and it practically killed me to make her nice in this fic. Maybe it didn't seem plausible that Nathan would divorce Haley if she was pregnant but it seemed plausible to me. Just because he's divorcing Haley doesn't mean that he's going to divorce his child and I don't think it's at all OOC. In the show Nathan knows how it feels to live with parents that love each other but hurt each other all the time so why stick a child with parents who _really _don't love each other? It's not like the child is old enough to understand what is going on. So in my book it's perfectly fine.

2 – Lack of Brucas: Uh what? No there wasn't a lack of Brucas at all. This whole story was centered on their relationship. It was directly mentioned in every chapter but every scene I wrote in this story affected their relationship in some way be it good or bad.

3 – Brooke/Lucas eloping: I used the term eloping because the wedding was moved and changed unexpectedly. Brooke thought what the readers thought—that they would be going to some chapel and getting married with a preacher that looked like Elvis but I'm think I wrote the characters IC for the whole of this fic and I wouldn't stop that by doing something cheesy like going to a chapel. I swear, my readers have no faith in me :(

4 – How the Naley breakup was handled: Okay everyone look back on a bad breakup that they had. Were you extremely nice and happy with that person after you broke up with them? Chances are the answer is no and I was trying to be realistic with their breakup. You have to understand in this story Naley's marriage was never a stable one and I think I portrayed Haley as being more emotionally involved in the marriage than Nathan was. You always saw Lucas talking to Nathan about _his _screw ups never Haley's screw ups because the fact of the matter is that Nathan has not been 100 in their relationship for a long time now.

5 – Don't see Nate with Eliza? Author's right guys. I like them together.


	30. Part 28 Epilogue

**Equal But Opposite Reaction**

**By: **Sari

**Disclaimer: **No, I don't own OTH. If I did Brooke and Lucas would be back together and Felix would be in a ditch somewhere. Haley wouldn't be going insane and she and Nathan would be back together.

**Summary: **AU Brucas. Successful bachelor Lucas Scott meets hard to get, feminist Brooke Davis and a rollercoaster ride occurs as both begin to fall in love.

**Part 28 / Epilogue**

_Marriage has for women many equivalents of joining a mass movement. It offers them a new purpose in life, a new future and a new identity (a new name). The boredom of spinsters and of women who can no longer find joy and fulfillment in marriage stems from an awareness of a barren, spoiled life. By embracing a holy cause and dedicating their energies and substance to its advancement, they find a new life full of purpose and meaning. – Eric Hoffer_

_"Hallow the body as a temple to comeliness and sanctify the heart as a sacrifice to love; love recompenses the adorers." – Kahlil Gibran_

_"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be." – Douglas Adams_

_"Prepare your mind to receive the best that life has to offer." – Ernest Holmes_

"_You don't love a woman because she is beautiful, but she is beautiful because you love her." – Anon._

Lucas's eyes were wet as he stood at the altar waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle. Everyone that mattered was there. His mom and Keith, Brooke's parents, Elizabeth, Nathan, Haley, and even Nancy had joined in on the festivities at the last minute. It was perfect; everything was finally falling into place bringing him full circle back to where his life needed to be.

His eyes met that of Lauren's and he smiled broadly as she mouthed the words he had been longing to hear since he had met Brooke and realized that she was the love of his life: "she's ready."

He nodded to her and the music began, and as first strains of the wedding march played in the rose scented air. Brooke began to walk out draped in white with her father at her arm.

Lucas glanced to his brother for support as he began to tear up and as she drew closer rivulets of tears were streaming down his face. When she finally made it to the altar they were both already crying, the beauty of the moment not lost on either of them.

"You're so beautiful." He whispered his voice thick with emotion.

She smiled at him. "And you look so handsome."

"Are we ready to begin?" The preacher asked.

Lucas nodded unable to speak.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here together in the sight of God, and in the face of this congregation, to join together this Man and this Woman in holy matrimony." The preacher began.

He didn't mean to, but as soon as the words were said his mind seemed to drift, to every defining moment, every single time that had reassured him that Brooke was the one, the _only_ one for him.

He remembered their first meeting…

_He looked around and noticed the brunette sitting elegantly on one of his chairs in the corner. Their eyes met and she rose from her seat a polite smile on her face._

_Lucas took that time to size up the woman. She was beautiful with shoulder length brunette hair and large brown eyes. She was dressed professionally and wore black wire rimmed glasses. "Mr. Scott, it's a pleasure to meet you I'm Brooke Davis executive editor of Filly magazine."_

"_Right, I know we talked on the phone. You're the one interested in getting interviewing rights on over half of my clientele."_

The end of their first date…

_He laughed and helped her up. "Shall we go Miss Davis?"_

"_I think we shall Mr. Scott." _

The first time he realized that he was falling hard…

"_Hi Lucas, I haven't heard from you in a while."_

"_Yeah, 2 days and I would tell you the number of hours but I think the time difference would screw it up." He said._

Defending her against her bastard ex-fiancé…

_Lucas scoffed and pulled Brooke behind him eyes narrowing dangerously. "Look Tim or whatever the hell your name is don't delude yourself. You are not that hot and not that rich for anyone to be falling all over you. You are a cheating bastard that took advantage of Brooke's love for you. Trust me when I say she's way over you and the thought of her even having an inkling of feelings left for you besides hate is a laughable matter. So why don't you take your big ass ego and stick it up your ass, Brooke is better off without you."_

The first time he ever had to say no…

"_Lucas wait…" Brooke murmured. "I want you to stay with me."_

"_Brooke you don't want me to do that."_

_Brooke got out of the bed and crossed the room quickly, pressing her mouth against his in a hot, passionate, needy kiss. Pushing him against the door and closing it in the process her hands made their way underneath his shirt casually pulling it off and stroking the hard muscles of his chest and stomach._

"_Brooke…" he gasped, kissing along her jaw and making his way down her neck. "We shouldn't do this…you're hurting and I'm going to feel terrible in the morning."_

Waking up in the hospital to her undying support…

"_Hey Brooke…" He murmured._

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_Like I've been asleep for years." He said pulling himself up into a sitting position._

Knowing that no matter how badly he screwed up she wasn't going to ever leave him…

"_Why are you doing this you hate me." Lucas said groaning. "You have a right to you know, I did a stupid thing with Serena yesterday, but Brooke I didn't mean it!" He insisted again._

"_She visited me today." She said._

"_She WHAT?" He yelled then grabbed at his head. "Damnit, my head hurts."_

Realizing that his lifestyle had to change if he wanted to be with her…

"_I should apologize too." He murmured taking her hand. "You're right, I'm not really cautious when it comes to my health and I need to be. Maybe I do need to cut down on the hours I work."_

Working his hardest to make a good impression for her parents…

"_Oh! Dad…mom…this is Lucas Scott, my boyfriend." She introduced him._

_Her dad smiled at Lucas and shook his hand while her mother gave him a brief hug. "It's so great that you came with Brooke to meet us!" She squealed. "I was just dying to meet you!"_

_He looked slightly uncomfortable but smiled back anyway, anything to give the Davis' a good impression of him. "It's nice to meet you as well Mrs. Davis. Brooke and Elizabeth have told me so much about you."_

Comforting her when it she needed it the most…

"_No, it makes you the exact opposite." He assured her. "Brooke, you love Peyton and Jake, but you're strong enough to realize that what they are doing is eventually going to hurt Jenny and both of them as well. Even if they don't see that you're trying to help them they will someday and you have to get by knowing that it will happen. Probably not today or tomorrow, but someday soon."_

Moving in with each other…

"_Will you move in with me?" He asked softly. _

"_Did you really think I'd say no?"_

Finally taking the plunge…

_They pulled onto the road that would take them to Brooke's office. "I've been meaning to ask you something." He said breaking the silence._

_She looked at him expectantly. "Well? Spit it out."_

"_I want you to go engagement ring shopping with me."_

And the moment that was second to this day in the best moments of his life…

_He took another deep breath. "So I guess what I'm trying to say here and I guess all of you know this is: Brooke Davis, the light of my life, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"_

_Brooke let out a choked out sob and launched herself into his arms successfully knocking him to the floor. "Yes you dork! Did you think I'd say anything else?" She said laughing. "I love you so much."_

He was brought back to the present by Brooke's hand slipping into his own and he looked into her brown eyes giving her a reassuring smile that yes this is what he wanted.

The preacher cleared his throat. "At this time the bride and groom have requested that they say personalized wedding vows. Lucas, would you like to go first?"

Lucas smiled and nodded. "This is crazy." He began letting loose a nervous chuckle. "I'm usually a romantic guy and words come to me so easily but right now standing in front of you seeing just how beautiful you are and realizing that I'll be waking up next to this beautiful woman for the rest of my life—I'm speechless."

"Brooke I promise you that I will be the best husband that I can. I promise to try to understand instead of jumping to conclusions, I promise to share my life with you even when all I want to do is be alone, I promise that I will make the effort everyday to tell you another reason why I love you—and will always love you."

"Kahlil Gibran wrote about marriage. I remember reading his words on the day I bought your engagement ring and thinking that if there's one passage in this that relates to us it would be this one: 'Love one another, but make not a bond of love: Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup. Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf. Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone, Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music."

The preacher smiled. "And Brooke, will you say yours?"

Brooke was wiping away tears but she nodded and began to speak. "I'm not as savvy with words as you are Luke, you were always the speaker in this relationship. You knew how to handle any situation and make sure that everyone benefited from it. That's only one of the many things that make me love you and make me want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"7 months ago I would have never dreamed that I'd be standing here across from the love of my life but since that day I met you, you have continuously swept me off my feet and even though you aren't perfect and you've made mistakes you are perfect in every way to me."

"It's amazing that a simple 'I love you' can encompass every emotion that I feel for you. 'I love you' expresses every doubt, joy, tears, laughter, regret, and bliss I have experienced with you and the future that I will have with you."

"With all my heart I promise to be the best wife that I can for you." Brooke finished.

"Can I have you join hands?" The preacher asked.

Brooke and Lucas did so their eyes still locked on each other.

"Lucas, do you take Brooke to be your wedded wife to live together in marriage. Do you promise to love, comfort, and honor her and to keep her for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. And forsaking all others, be faithful only to her so long as you both shall live?"

He grinned. "Believe me, I do."

"Brooke, do you take Lucas to be your wedded husband to live together in marriage. Do you promise to love, comfort, and honor him and to keep him for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. And forsaking all others, be faithful only to him so long as you both shall live?"

With tears threatening to fall Brooke nodded. "I do."

"By the power vested in me I now pronounce you husband and wife." The preacher looked up and addressed the group of teary eyed individuals. "May I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Lucas Scott."

Lucas and Brooke kissed tentatively at first then with more passion as they understood that it was done. Their journey was just beginning but the hardest part had been completed.

**"We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end."**

– Benjamin Disareli

**THE END.**

**A/N:** There is no sequel to this guys. But it's been fun and I'm hope that you all enjoyed the story.


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